Scuderi Group Drives Home $8 Million in Funding for Breakthrough Air-Hybrid Engine; Patented Air-Hybrid Technology Design to Be Unveiled at Upcoming SAE World Congress

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2006--The Scuderi Group, an engine development company currently building the break-through Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine, announced today that it has received over $8 million in funding from numerous private investors since kicking off its official fundraising campaign last summer. This funding, which includes a $1.2 million award from the U.S. government, is being used to continue developing what is designed to be the world's most fuel efficient internal combustion engine.

Currently in production at Southwest Research, a world renowned independent laboratory in San Antonio, Texas, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine will allow diesel and gasoline automobiles, commercial vehicles and other applications powered by internal combustion engines to be 60 percent fuel efficient (compared to today's 33 percent), reduce toxic emissions by 80 percent, while making it easier and less expensive to incorporate the technology into today's automobile manufacturing process.

“Consumers are demanding better fuel efficiency in their vehicles and less dependence on foreign oil. And we believe the investment community has identified our technology as being poised to meet this demand, especially as the automobile industry struggles to increase the value of their products”

Designs for the air-hybrid engine will be discussed and on display April 3-6 at the SAE World Congress exhibition being held at the Cobo Center in Detroit. (Booth # 2561)

"Consumers are demanding better fuel efficiency in their vehicles and less dependence on foreign oil. And we believe the investment community has identified our technology as being poised to meet this demand, especially as the automobile industry struggles to increase the value of their products," said Sal Scuderi, president of the Scuderi Group.

The engine has also reached the attention of the U.S. government, which recently awarded The Scuderi Group $1.2 million in federal funding to further the development of its engine. Led by U.S. Rep. John W. Olver (D-MA), the grant is part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill passed by Congress.

The Scuderi Technology can be applied to any piston engine, from very small gasoline powered lawn mowers engines to very large diesel powered train engines. The technology is patented worldwide with six patents issued and several pending in over 45 countries. The Scuderi Group plans to license the technology to qualified engine manufacturers.

The Scuderi Group includes experts in fluid and thermodynamics, engine technology, patent and commercial law, licensing, government relations, business management and finance. The technology is based on the research and inventions of the late Carmelo Scuderi (1925-2002) who spent over 40 years inventing, developing and commercializing new technology. He is best known in the engineering profession for his oil-less compressor technology, which changed the method used by the refrigeration and air-conditioning market to recycle ozone-depleting refrigerant chemicals.

About The Scuderi Group

Based in West Springfield, Mass., The Scuderi Group is an engine development company focused on improving the performance of the internal combustion engine. The revolutionary Scuderi Engine Technology is the most significant improvement in engine performance in decades and can be applied to any internal combustion engine including gasoline, diesel, bio-diesel, and natural gas. The Scuderi Engine, along with its Air-Hybrid feature, is expected to almost double vehicle mileage and reduce toxic emissions by as much as 80 percent. Besides improving efficiency and reducing emissions, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Technology also improves power and performance at a cost that is thousands of dollars below the current hybrid systems. The Scuderi Technology is patented worldwide with six patents issued and several pending in over 45 countries. For more information call 413-439-0343 or visit on the Web at www.scuderigroup.com.