Autoblog

Back in November, we brought you the story of a real-life dream-to-reality car story. It was the tale of Neal Bailey, who was taking the best details of the cars he loved and creating his dream car.

Neal emailed us last week to say he had done some work on his self-branded supercar, the Bailey Blade, and was getting closer to putting it into limited production. The latest design changes were necessary to meet European headlight-height regulations with Viper-like, fender-hugging lamps in front. Neal took advantage of the required changes to incorporate some other design mods as well, like the slotted front intakes where the old headlights once were and the hood scoops now are covered instead of open. The car is also getting a newly redesigned front and rear independent suspension.

The leg-sizzling chrome sidepipes are, thankfully, still there, as are the Vette-like rear haunches and the 500-hp Roush V8 planned for the prototype.

Neal says he hopes to have a rolling prototype by the middle of this year with sales starting sometime next year, sooner if he can find an investor. As you have probably already guessed, Neal is hoping to sell a few in Europe, and he says he has designed the Blade to be easily constructed as a right-hand drive car.

If you want a Bailey Blade, Neal says plan on spending between $50,000 and $80,000 depending on options like the prototype's Roush 400IR, an $18,000 option.