In 2008, as gas prices shot through the stratosphere, new gas saving devices came out of the woodwork. One of the more popular was those HHO gas injectors where electrolysis is used to separate hydrogen from water. The resulting gas was then injected into the intake tract along with the air fuel mixture. All manner of wondrous improvements were credited to the devices, from smoother running engines to improved fuel mileage. Of course that also lead to the myriad websites claiming “Run Your Car on Water!!!!!!!!”

Anytime there is something new, there are skeptics, and rightly so. The scam alerts were on full tilt. You had the college professor types proclaiming that the devices violated thermodynamic law, and there was no way they could work. Then there were those people that incorrectly thought that cars using such devices used no gasoline at all, only the HHO gas, and that could never work.

There were also the skeptics that wondered why, if this technology was so promising, did the beleaguered Detroit auto manufacturers not jump onto the HHO bandwagon like kids mobbing an ice cream truck in August? For a mass-market auto manufacturer to find a technology that could enable them to easily increase horsepower and mileage, while lowering emissions would be a dream come true, and if such devices worked as advertised surely they’d be adopted post haste.

Many of these people questioning the auto makers forgot the morass of regulatory bureaucracy, safety issues, warranty concerns, and liability problems posed by a glass (or any other material) bottle of hydrogen under the hood.

Well, respected Texas racing engine builder, turned auto manufacturer Damon Kuhn (COO) and aftermarket manufacturer Ronn Maxwell(CEO) have some argument with the skeptics. Unlike all the e-book writers on the Internet who have been claiming the HHO technology will work if only you buy their e-book so you can see how to build and retrofit one of the devices on your own car, Kuhn and Maxwell have really put their money where their mouths are.

Kuhn, Maxwell, and ex-Dell executive Adrian Pylypec, who also sports an automotive industry background, are the three behind publicly traded Ronn Motors, and have they got a proof of concept for you! It’s called the Scorpion, and unlike those build it at home kits that you can learn how to assemble from an e-book for a few hundred to $1,000, their rig costs $150,000! That’s right, the Scorpion is a true to life exotic car, to compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche. The public debut of the hydrogen powered Scorpion was at the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas in November of 2008, to rave reviews.

The Scorpion HHO Exotic Car

No kit car, this, the Scorpion is powered by a breathed on Acura engine. It is the 3.5 liter, Type-S unit used to power Acura’s top of the line sports-luxury sedan, the RL. Sporting all the usual performance and economy enhancing accoutrements, such as port fuel injection, variable valve timing and aluminum / magnesium alloy construction, it produces about 300hp when under the hood of an RL. Not bad, but not what the two from Texas felt was needed to power a super exotic. Plus, they wanted something that would be really special, and environmentally friendly to boot.

Boy, did they get their wish! The HHO and twin-turbo enhanced version of the smooth running power plant really delivers on all fronts. Not content to add only horsepower, they wanted to take something out; emissions. With all the worldwide concern for carbon emissions and climate change, Ronn Motors wanted to demonstrate that high performance doesn’t have to mean environmentally irresponsible.

The Scorpion HHO Exotic Car - another great look

They’ve succeeded in spades, as the HHO injected Acura mill not only delivers a robust 450hp, it does so while only producing about 10 – 20% of the carbon emissions produced by the stock Acura engine. It also returns 40mpg on the freeway according to Ronn Motors, although the car hasn’t been tested by the EPA or DOT yet. That, coupled with the sub 4.0 second 0-60 time is a potent combination, and one not found in any other production automobile, with the exception of the pure electric Tesla roadster. The Tesla however, has a limited range, and it’s top speed of 125mph pales in comparison to the 200mph promised by the Scorpion.

Like it?

Vendors of aftermarket HHO gas kits have pointed to smother running, increased power, better fuel mileage, and reduced emissions, and that’s just what Ronn reps note their modified Acura engine delivers. As you can see from the photos, and probably gathered from the stratospheric price tag, the Scorpion isn’t some backyard kit car. Ronn Motors has a real, 8,000 sq foot production facility that they own, and have another campus like facility in the planning stages.

The Scorpion uses a Hydrogen gas generator, the H2GO(TM), that will be available as an aftermarket unit for $999. This should generate substantial revenue for the company, as they are projecting sales of nearly 1 million units. If this comes to pass, the exotic car business will become an interesting sideline. The unit holds 1 gallon of standard tap water, which should last for 3,000 – 5,000 miles. That corresponds nicely to the oil change interval on most automobiles. It actually uses a separate computer to optimize fuel and has flow, accounting for a large portion of the fuel mileage increase. According to Ronn Motors, some diesel test rigs running the H2GO have reported over 80% increases in fuel mileage.

When can you buy one? Well, they have promised delivery will begin in 2009 for the first run of 200 cars. The $999 aftermarket HHO generators should be available sometime this year too. For those of you who’d rather roll your own HHO power plant, try Water4Gas; they are one of the leaders in the “build and install your own HHO” arena.

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