Who is the Blade's designer?

The Blade idea and design was conceived by Neal Bailey, age 35, in July 2007.

What is the concept behind the Blade?

There were several ideas that went into the Blade Concept. First, I looked at just about every sports car on the road, both old and new to determine a style that would fit in with today's cars. The idea was to incorporate modern and classic styling into a single flowing design. Many days were spent considering cars on the road and sketching ideas that came to me while sitting in traffic. The concept literally started from the ground up. Inspired by the legendary Shelby Cobra, the idea was to have something that had the raw power and look of the classic 60s cars, but with today's suspension technology and performance characteristics of a modern sports car. Once an idea was conceived I designed the concept in CAD.

Many considerations went into the CAD development. The chassis was designed using an existing chassis from a Replica Cobra but with several modifications to accommodate a modern adjustable independent front and rear suspension. After the chassis was designed, work began on the body and the overall look of the car. I wanted to make it sleek, sexy and aggressive. From the very beginning there was one specific goal for this car; that was to make sure that tall people could fit in it comfortably and look good as well. Since I am 6'4" it has always been difficult to fit into small sports cars. And not to mention the ridiculous look of a driver's head peaking over the front windshield. Special precautions were taken to design the car in such a way that anyone who is 6'6", possibly taller can easily fit into the car. I expanded the engine compartment to accommodate most engine and trans combinations, including enough room for big block and modular engines.

Will the Blade be available overseas?

Another key factor for this car beside fitting tall folks... is that we would like to provide the Blade overseas. The car is being developed to accept both left and right hand drive versions. Therefore we are working hard to meet European standards for this type of car.

You make everything look so easy, with your project. But how did you reach this level of knowledge? Do you have any background in engineering?

It takes tons of research that's for sure... when I made the decision to give this a try I started by searching the internet for any and everything concerning concepts cars and how to make them. After many days of research I was getting pretty discouraged as there was hardly any information on how to go about making a full scale concept car. It seems as if it was a hidden or lost art, and only the large auto makers held the secret information. During my searching I had only found a few low quality images of cars being developed in the early 70s and 60s with little bits of info here and there. I noticed in the early days automakers used wood as the main form to give the shape of the design and usually there were large scale images hanging on the wall to use as a template to go off of. Most of the concepts I found were built using wood as the main support structure and clay as the actual surface of the design. Then designers would carve the clay to bring out the details and smooth body lines. Today everything is done using expensive 5 axis CNC machines and then detailed finished by hand.

It wasn't till I stumbled onto a few kit car projects on the internet that I really saw how simple it was to build something like this. After seeing what people were doing with their Kit Cars I latched onto a few projects and started communicating with people and asking many questions. I finally saw that if I used some of the methods used by big auto makers along with that of the Kit Car industry I would be able to make the project doable with little money invested initially. That's basically how I got my knowledge, and even with that, I still had to invent my own methods for doing things.

I do not have any engineering education at all. However I did work at a pretty hi-tech engineering company about 10 years ago from which I learned a lot. My whole life I have always been technical in a creative kind of way and never had any problem taking apart something just to see how it works. That's about the extent of my engineering skills... people tell me that I have a natural "How-it-Works" ability to know how something works or how it should go together.

Have you built other machines or vehicles before?

Yes... my hobbies have always included cars in some form or fashion since I was sixteen years old, tinkering on my first cars. Once I had my first Hot Rod I fell in love with the Speed and Power. Ever since then I have built and restored several cars, everything from old Mustangs to old Jags. I recently built a 66 Shelby Cobra 427 replica and during the build process I found myself upgrading, adding and improving on just about every aspect of the car. This had nothing to do with the manufacturer as it was one of the best Cobra kits on the market. I just found myself wanting to make it unique and different. While making all the changes a light bulb went off and I thought "wow with all this work I should just build my own car" and that's when it hit me... and the idea of the Blade was born.

In a way, it was a life changing moment because I had to push my doubts away and realize that I had thought the same thing about my Shelby Cobra. I never thought I would own one of those. And that's when I started to really focus on changing my thinking and realizing that I can absolutely do this.

Do you have a job or does this project take all your time?

Well, Yes and Yes... I do have a job working as Director of Internet Marketing and Developing for a diesel performance company. When I get home I try to spend a few hours on the car or 3D CAD work. I try to keep moving on some part whether it's out in the garage shaving foam or at the computer working on a new suspension system concept. I mostly work on it during the weekend or days off. It's difficult to do when you have commitments to the Wife and Kids, but I find time for everyone and usually save the "car" time after everyone goes to bed. It's definitely a full time job but I still have to earn money to support the family at the same time. I am hoping with some of the attention that this project is getting that I can attract some funding or investors to help with the project and give me the ability to truly work on it full time. This would greatly speed up the progress.

What was the inspiration for the Blade?

The primary inspiration for the car has to be attributed to the Classic Shelby Cobra. I have always wanted a Cobra, although it's ironic, that when I finally got a replica of one, I immediately wanted to design and build my own version of a dream car. Although the Cobra was the main inspiration, there were several other car designs that helped me grasp the modern perspective.

Have you met Carroll Shelby? Would you like to know his opinion about the car?

I met Carroll Shelby about 10 years ago at a local car event. I got a shirt signed and my friend got his glove box door signed for his classic 64 Mustang. Not a big deal, as this is how most people meet him. I would be interested to know what he thought but in all honesty it would not make much difference to me one way or the other. The Blade Concept was only inspired by the Cobra and many other cars with characteristics that make them timeless.

Personally, my goal was for everyone to see this car and recognize certain aspects of their favorite car in the design. It is interesting because I see and hear people saying to me all the time how it looks like a Mustang, Dodge, Corvette, BMW, Jag, Austin Martin etc. etc. the list is endless. Really it's not designed after any particular car I basically sat down at the computer and started sculpting the shape freehand in 3D until I liked what I saw. It went through many design stages at least a few hundred before I decided on the final design. When designing the car I tried to capture specific feelings and emotions relating to what makes cars special and timeless to people and incorporated some of these into the design to give it that familiarity that I think people see in the car. That's why people see so many different cars in the styling.

How would you describe the profile of the Blade customer?

Well this is difficult to know really... from looking around on the web and reading people's responses, the Blade seems to have a very wide appeal. My goal is to keep the car affordable and in doing so, I think that will broaden the customer range of who can afford it. I do not have any data to go off of, but I suspect that the optimal customer will be someone who is a current Cobra owner, or muscle car enthusiast. The responses that I have been getting would also suggest that a younger edgier group would be just as interested. I think for the most part it appeals to Muscle Car, Sports Car and even Formula D enthusiasts.

Are you the only one involved in the development and production of this car?

At the beginning I was the one and only, but recently I have teamed up with a few people. One, is a long time friend that worked with me at the engineering company years ago, Eric Rodela. He was the lead engineer at the time and he is now helping me work up a new and unique suspension and chassis setup for the Blade. Hopefully in the next month I will have more information on this on the website. The other partner is the owner of a company called Lone Star Classics, I bought my Shelby Cobra replica from them. They are in the kit car business as a leading kit car manufacturer. At this point, we have a partnership where they will be the official dealer of the Blade and part manufacturer. I will be using some of their resources to produce the body and possibly the chassis for the Blade. We are still working out all the details, so nothing is final yet.

What stage or part of the car was the most difficult to go through or build?

The most difficult part is definitely shaping the foam form. You almost have to be Michelangelo in your sculpting abilities. Although I have wooden forms and many guides setup all over the place it's mostly there for reference and you have to hand carve the body's shape on both sides symmetrically. Its pretty time consuming and tedious and some days I only manage to work on a square foot of the car at a time.

Can you estimate the amount of money this project will consume until the completion of the first running prototype?

I estimate between $200K and $300K to get the first prototype on the road. That's not too bad actually. I am lucky that I have the resources I do to help with this process. I think others that have done this or tried have spent into the millions.

Where will the series production take place? Who will build the cars?

This is all still to be determined, once I get closer to what I called the Mold stage I plan to get my own facility with a small staff. Since I live in the DFW area in Texas, this will be my initial location for the business. We will build the chassis, suspension and small components here. Most everything else will be outsourced to machine shops and molding facilities. The cars will be built by a small group of people and me. We will probably build 5 to 10 turn keys at first. After that, we plan to create what's called a Turn Key Minus. This is where the customer selects the engine and drive train that they want to use.

Will you subject the car to a crash test? What are the requirements for the homologation of this type of car over there in the USA? How will it respect the requirements in Europe?

Currently we do not have plans for federal crash testing. This is major expense and a small company like us could not afford to do it, at least not at the moment. With that said, I do plan to test the chassis and safety of the car in a non-government regulated way. The safety and environmental requirements are pretty lenient in the US for specialty cars, (which the Blade is,) and it's a state by state requirement. The Blade is intended to be very safe, as the chassis is built ridged like a race car with light weight DOM, chrome-molly steel and aluminum.

The chassis is able to fit many engine types... this way the customer can choose an engine that meets the requirements in their state or country. It will be up to the customer to make the car meet their emission laws, but with the recommended engines, it will be 50 state legal in the US. Of course everything on the car is designed to meet all DOT and ECE requirements. Everything from the glass, head lights, tail lights, seat harness, fiberglass material and rubber molding will meet both American and European standards. I made that a priority. That's one reason I decide to use many standardized parts because they already meet these requirements.

From what I read on your web site I understood that the clients will have the liberty to configure the set up of the car. What exactly will they be able to customize?

We have designed the car for the Specialty Vehicle market so we will be providing the car as a completely built car, minus the engine. This is called a Turn Key Minus. Customers will be able to choose and select their own engine and transmission. You can choose between 4-Link, 3Link, or IRS suspension, all of these have there strong points depending on what you want to do with the car. Everything on the suspension is adjustable to make alignment and setting it up for racing or street easy and quick to do. Other things like interior and paint can also be custom selected, of course.

You've mentioned on your web site "the belly pans" that improve the cars down force. Did you use the computer software to establish the aerodynamic details?

Yes, the Blade will have belly pans for increased air flow under the car and help with down force. I did this to help scavenge air under the car due to the front being so opened. This is also another reason for the air flow holes in the hood, to help direct air over the car, instead of under. I have run some aerodynamics software on the design but at this time we are still collecting data based on new design changes. We are also converting all the CAD work to a new program that will be able to give better flow results. However, the Blade is not intended to be a super car; yes it will be fast but don't expect to watch any YouTube videos of someone driving down the motorway at 250 mph. That will be with my next car design!!!

Do you have the support of any sponsors? Or is this your self sustained business?

I wish I had outside funding... I would love to have some sponsors and financial support. At the moment this is a self sustained business, but I am prepared to take it all the way on my own if I have to. Funding will speed things up greatly and guarantee that you will see this on the road soon. This is only the first car and I have three more designs that I am eager to show the world, and I will definitely need financial support for them.

Did you receive any orders by now?

People have offered to put money down towards the car so they could have the first one. Unfortunately, we have had to turn them down because we are still so early in the design process that we do not have a price for the Blade yet. The goal is to keep it affordable but there is so much to do before I can start figuring the pricing for the Blade. Once we are further along we will consider taking pre-orders.

What's left to do before we see a rolling prototype?

We still have a lot to do, as we are still in the early stages of constructing the first prototype. We should have the new chassis finished by May 2008, and at this the main body buck should be close to finished and getting ready for the mold making process. The interior and components such as AC and instrument gauges are also in the early stages of design. We hope to start working on this in March.

When should we see the Blade for sale?

We are hoping to have the blade ready for sale in the early part of 2009. We have extended this due to some body and chassis redesigns. The first prototype is expected to be finished towards the end of this year. We were hoping to have it ready by mid 2008, but the mold making process will take a little longer than expected since we are now looking at producing carbon fiber bodies along with the standard Vinyl Ester version.

What will be the cost of the Blade?

As of right now we have a projected price range between $50,000 - $80,000 dollars. The price can vary a great deal depending on certain options and configurations. The engine and transmission types can greatly affect the price, for instance if you go with a standard fuel injected ford 302 engine from someone like Keith Craft you are looking at around $6,000 where compared to a Roush 400IR at around $18,000 and you go from 300HP to 500HP.