Lada go boom. Maybe.
We have shocking news for you, friends. Sometimes the television shows and films you see aren’t always true to life. It is tragic to discover that there aren’t any super-heroes wearing armor or cars capable of jumping between buildings. Sometimes, the truth hurts. But that’s just life.
We have the Garage 54 team who can help us soften the blow on this Hollywood-explosion faux pas. We must now drop the don’t try it at home tagline. For obvious reasons, this experiment was done in remote training areas. This is due to gasoline and fire’s explosive relationship. This is especially true for gasoline vapor. We’ll discuss this in a moment.
This mission is to determine if gasoline’s slightest flame can cause instant, dramatic explosions. We all know that gasoline can create huge fireballs. But is it possible? Garage 54’s crew begins the experiment by dropping a lit cigar onto the gas-soaked ground. The experiment is a failure. In fact, the cigars that have been used are actually snuffed out.
However, a lighter will produce the same result. Although there is no explosion, a trail of gasoline on ground eventually turns to minor flame. This part of the experiment has shown promise. Things then move to the Lada, which is partially fueled with gasoline. The flame is ignited by a long trail of fuel, which then reaches the Lada. The car simply burns. Slowly.
Everyone should now know that gasoline’s explosive nature doesn’t stem from its liquid. It comes from the vapor, and even more importantly, the vapor under pressure. The tank of the Lada should have been full, even though it was only partially filled. Nearly every car made in the past 40 years has an evaporative system to prevent pressure from exceeding a certain point. You can certainly get a huge gasoline explosion out of a car if you have the right conditions. A casual flick of a cigar, or even an open flame, will almost never cause such a conflagration.
Instead, watch this video to see a Lada burning slowly. Even though the car appears to be dead, Garage 54 has another mission for it. Is it possible to resurrect this Lada? You can expect that in a future video.