Bailey Blade to get electric option and, sigh... on-demand hydrogen too
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Bailey Blade
The auto industry is being hit hard by the global economic crisis, and no manufacturer is too big or too small to be affected. Just as General Motors, Ford, Toyota and the rest of the world's big automakers have needed to refine their business plans, so must niche manufacturers like Bailey, which has been working on the new Blade supercar for the last few years. As you can imagine, introducing a supercar in a market such as this is tough, to say the least. All cars seem to require a "green angle" of sorts to remain relevant, and the Blade is no exception, getting two additional variants with alternative powertrain options. The first is the XTR, powered by a 750-horsepower 5.4L V8 engine... sounds about right for a supercar. The second vehicle in the works, called the EVR, uses an electric drivetrain featuring twin electric motors, four-wheel drive and lithium phosphate batteries. Awesome. We wish Bailey luck. The third version, though, we're not nearly as excited about, as it is supposed to feature a supercharged V8 engine with *ahem* on-demand hydrogen that's said to cut fuel consumption by 20 percent. Sounds familiar. May we suggest focusing on the electric?
Gallery: Bailey Blade
[Source: Bailey via Autoblog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jo. A. Borras 1:24PM (11/25/2008)
I call "vaporware".
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Red 1:59PM (11/25/2008)
I call you an asshat. See? Everybody can do it.
Anyway, I've been looking forward to seeing the Blade for awhile now. I really enjoy the build threads I've seen and the timelapse vids are really cool. Keep it up!
Jo. A. Borras 2:17PM (11/25/2008)
I'm sure you have been looking forward to seeing the Blade for quite a while now!
That said, it will take alot more than time-lapse videos of someone carving foam over a kit-car frame to make anyone believe there's anything real here.
Neal Bailey (BaileySpeed) 1:35PM (11/25/2008)
Just to add some clarity on the on-demand hydrogen setup… we understand that there are skeptics and believe me I was one of them but we have done some testing that proves that while the Hydrogen (HHO) would not ever be used as a100% replacement of current fuels it can however act as an additive to help the burn process. This is not simply by dumping it into the intake manifold like you see all over YouTube, but instead using precise engine management modules to make sure that the on-board computers, O2 sensors and fuel systems is metered correctly. We plan to experiment with the technology on Hi horsepower applications, that would help in saving gas while at normal driving and cruising speeds, anything past mid throttle would revert back to 100% Gasoline usage. We believe this is a viable technology and has a place in the automotive world, but its finding that right application for it to work properly.
We understand how everyone likes to call cars like this Vaporware, I don’t blame them… the difference between us is we are funding this on our own until we can get some kind of funding. We are building it very publicly by videoing the whole process on our website. Once we are fished with the first prototype we will begin testing each alternative and show people what works and what doses not work.
-Neal
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paulwesterberg 6:03PM (11/25/2008)
As evidenced by the comments on this blog there are many scientifically illiterate consumers in the US who have never heard of the laws of thermodynamics and have money to waste.
Using the hydrogen "free energy" snakeoil to sell your cars should be quite successful.
Tim 2:03PM (11/25/2008)
Neal (#2)
Ignore those with their heads up their a$$es like Jeremy and KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
People like jeremy believe that they (and all "scientists") know EVERYTHING so they only question NEW ideas and never old ones.
WE understand that cooling the intake charge for greater fuel density while adding more oxygen and H2 fuel to the charge could only increase power and efficiency. They don't understand this basic concept.
Some people fear new ideas. Jeremy and others are still clinging to their buggy whips just in case horses come back in fashion while they put their fingers in their ears and make humming sounds when people bring up new ideas.
It's kind of sad, really...
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Jo. A. Borras 2:19PM (11/25/2008)
Tim,
I don't think you're being very fair to the skeptics. Simply, I don't think anyone is questioning the validity of new ideas here - at least, I'm not.
What I'm questioning is the credibility of someone who is making some pretty advanced technical claims on the driveline side, yet is still using very basic tools to shape the body.
Let me be clear: the techniques shown on that video would have be laughed out of a kit car show 10 years ago. That video is doing nothing for Neal, who - by all accounts - is a very bright, well-spoken guy.
Neal would be better off with solid CAD models and maybe some rapid-prototyped parts and a Cobra kitcar mule to prove the engineering. He should stop with the caveman bodywork - it's just not accomplishing what he wants it to accomplish (generate media interest and potential investors).
Neal Bailey 3:17PM (11/25/2008)
Jo,
I appreciate your skepticism… But there is a lot that you are missing on this project. Yes we are carving the body buck out of foam; this is a technique still used today even by the big three. Of course they have 5 Axis CNC machines to do this as well but the first mockups and prototypes are usually made of foam, wood and clay and carved by hand. Then they scan this with a 3D scanner and create a solid model from which they use a 5 Axis to carve out a more precise model. The author of this story said we have been working on this for a few years… well it’s really only been little over a year and a lot of that was spent on designing everything in 3D using Solidworks and a few other programs. The whole car has been designed in CAD. We are only showing the process of the Body Buck right now… later we will show all the CAD files of the new Chassis along with us building it. It’s a very complicated process and we are doing things in an unorthodox way.
All I can really say is just wait and see… we want to show people what can be done instead of keeping it a secrete like so many do.
Once we get funding, things will move a lot faster. But right now, it’s just us and a little support from a few people and that’s it. I think once we post the next set of videos you will really understand where this is going.
- Neal
Chris M 12:48AM (11/26/2008)
Did you realize that all the "added oxygen" is burned up by the hydrogen, leaving no added oxygen? Furthermore, since that electrolysis gas displaces air, there is less atmospheric oxygen available to burn the fuel, thus the amount of fuel must be reduced. The energy from burning that "HHO" gas is much less than the energy that could have been obtained from the air and fuel that were displaced.
Basically, "HHO" improves fuel economy by reducing power and performance. Using a smaller engine would be more effective.
Bill 2:25PM (11/25/2008)
For once I'm actually waiting for gorr to weigh in on a post...
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GoodCheer 2:56PM (11/25/2008)
Ha..
That is funny! ;-)
Maybe I can help:
"They are messing with the carburation ( or injection system if you want ) system that feed normal gasoline ice engine with liquid gosoline. They don't know first how a normal computerized modern gasoline ice engine works and then they change the fueling system with a second different fuel called hho gas. They didn't adapt the engine to use this new fuel and this is why it work bad and even it can kill the engine fast. If they re-program the carburation system and monitor how much hho gas is entering the engine at all time then they can go to 100% hho like d.dingel do in phillipine since 1968, LOL."
Serge 3:45PM (11/25/2008)
As one of the so called skeptics, I will weigh in on the subject. Unlike Tim would make you believe, I am not a "scientist," never claimed to know EVERYTHING and is fairly open to new ideas. What I am not open to are unproven claims peddled on the Internet with express purpose to get funding. Bailey claims to achieve a 20% increase in gas mileage of a high-performance engine solely based on installing an "HHO Kit" and tweaking the engine on a limited budget. Any car manufacturer, would pay dearly to get access to technology that allowed for this kind of improvement in an internal combustion engine. Instead, they spend billions to achieve 1-2% improvements. Why? because claims by HHO kit pushers are false! You can can tweak the engine to make it run lean, but a lot of power will be lost.
So, please, Mr. Bailey, do prove your claims, then we can talk about funding.
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Neal Bailey (BaileySpeed) 4:33PM (11/25/2008)
OK Serge,
I will add to our site that the 20% is projected… I understand where you are coming from. Look we are not trying to produce vaporware, we are not trying to take people money… umm ok well yeah we are but only to be used for the Blade. Our whole site and project is in the conceptual stage right now. I believe it’s pretty clear that what we are doing is experimental; remember we are just two guys building a car. Also keep in mind that on a 500HP to 600HP motor that only gets 8-10 MPGs it’s not that difficult increasing it to 12MPG using a kit based HHO systems giving it an 20% increase. However we are not just using simple HHO Kits with a few tweaks, we are working on complete engine management systems that will precisely meter the hydrogen gases and fuel mixture. Again we are not trying to save the world… we simple want to produce an extremely hi performance vehicle using current and new technologies. Anyway just keeping it real… and thanks to all the supporters. Hmmm maybe I should pitch this as a reality show…
JamesWB 6:01AM (11/26/2008)
Wow, hydrogen scam AND really ugly. Well done.
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Jo 11:04AM (11/26/2008)
Well played ...
gorr 8:59PM (11/26/2008)
This look interresting but maybe too powerful for my budjet. I will like to know if you put the ignition timing at top dead center for fun.
I think that it's possible to go 100% hho but it take a bigger and faster water electrolyser that can match a v8 of 5.4 liter spinning full rpm at full load (acceleration) A mist of water added in the cylinder like the H.A.W systen adds to the power too, im pretty sure. Water mist don't impede hydrogen combustion contrary to fossil fuel. This can go up to 1000+ horsepower At least some start to re-think the carburation system of the 'good ol ice'
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