2008 Bailey Blade Concept

These very nice sketches of a proper supercar are the work of Nick Bailey who wanted to create an affordable sportscar that captures the look and feel of old school cars but with today’s race technology and performance. He called it the Bailey Blade Concept. It’s not hard to see that his inspiration came from the stunning Shelby Cobra.Under the hood, Bailey has permission to a Roush V8 unit delivering 400 to 500 bhp. The engine compartment however is designed to accommodate most small block V8s including the newer Ford modular 4.6L engine. But according to the 35-year-old designer, the Blade will be available once it has been track tested and performs as expected with all the bugs worked out. His plan is to have it for sale by end of 2008.

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.