This Falcon is ready to fly.
The Freebird is a 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint coupe that's been built to burn rubber by burning hydrogen.
The classic was rebuilt by Arrington Performance with a 5.0-liter Ford V8 from a Ford Mustang that's been modified to run on the literal gas instead of gasoline.
It's the company's second hydrogen hot rod, following a 1948 Chevrolet pickup it designed with a 6.2-liter GM V8.
GENERAL MOTORS TO HELP BUILD HYDROGEN-POWERED JETS
Several automakers, including Toyota, Honda and Hyundai, currently sell vehicles that run on hydrogen, but in a different way.
They combine stored hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen in a fuel cell catalyst to generate electricity and replace the need for a large battery pack.
Freebird simply burns the hydrogen, a process that doesn't create any carbon dioxide, but can generate nitrogen oxides if not properly controlled.
It's not as simple as swapping tanks, however. The Ford V8 features direct and port fuel injectors, the latter of which are now used to introduce a small amount of water into the mix to help control combustion temperatures.
It's an old hot rodder's trick that BMW recently experimented with in its M4 performance model.
"Just like any industry, to make change, you must approach the issue from more than one direction," Arrington Performance CEO Mike Copeland said.
"I love performance vehicles and I happen to be an expert with internal combustion engines. It only made sense to delve further into hydrogen as a direct fuel source and enable the conversion from gas as a zero emissions option."
GENERAL MOTORS DEVELOPING HYDROGEN-POWERED GENERATORS FOR ELECTRIC CAR CHARGERS AND THE MILITARY
The Freebird's exact specifications haven't been released, but the company said the engine should produce about 10% more power than the gasoline version, which is rated at 460 horsepower.
The car, which is equipped with a 5.3 kilogram hydrogen tank, can be driven for 4 to 5 hours between five-minute fills. It's also been updated with a modernized suspension, brakes and other parts.
Hydrogen isn't readily available to consumers outside of California, where there are a few public stations, but is being explored as an alternative to gasoline beyond fuel cells by some major companies. These include a collaboration between Toyota and Yamaha to build their own high performance V8.
