Is this the real future of the industry?
There’s plenty of talk in the automotive news media about electrifying classic cars, however one shop has shown off a completely different proposition at the SEMA Show. Arrington Performance caused quite the stir revealing its hydrogen-powered 1964 Ford Falcon. What’s more, it’s not a fuel-cell vehicle like you might expect but instead uses a modified 5.0-liter Coyote V8 to combust hydrogen instead of the dyno juice.
Learn why a famous automotive executive says EVs aren’t the future here.
Unlike the new hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles which use hydrogen to power electric motors, instead of using massive lithium-ion batteries, this Falcon just combusts the gas in the V8’s cylinders like how it would normally burn gas. The big difference is instead of producing carbon dioxide, the combustion process results in water vapor, although if not tuned right the engine will kick out some nitrogen oxides.
Direct fuel injectors put the hydrogen gas into the cylinders for combustion. Through port fuel injectors, tiny amounts of water are injected into the combustion chambers to keep temperatures in check, a method which has been used for a long time.
Backing up that Coyote V8 is a TKX 5-speed manual transmission. In other words, you can still row through the gears and have plenty of fun without combusting fossil fuels. Plus, refueling takes only 5 minutes and the car can be driven for 4 to 5 hours before it needs to be filled up again.
There’s considerable controversy surrounding hydrogen as a source of fuel for cars, both classic and modern. Some EV advocates believe exploring the technology takes away resources from their beloved propulsion system. Others claim it’s a snake oil solution which doesn’t really solve anything. However, it’s interesting to see it being used in a less traditional way, although we’re unsure what implications it might have for classic cars in the future.
This isn’t the first time Arrington Performance has converted a classic car into a hydrogen-powered beast. It did something similar with a 1948 Chevy truck and a 6.2-liter V8.
Source: Fox News
Photos via Arrington Performance
