Local Motors Preps Road-Ready 3D-Printed Car

The “sport” version of the upcoming Local Motors 3D printed car project. The company plans to have a highway-ready version available by 2016. Image courtesy of Local Motors.

In September 2014, Local Motors printed its Strati car on the floor of the International Manufacturing Technology Show. Now the group is preparing a highway-ready version of the 3D-printed car. Earlier in July, the group announced the winner of its Project Redacted challenge, which will serve as the basis for a fleet of 3D-printed vehicles.

The winning design, Reload Redacted - Swim/Sport from Kevin Lo, includes a “flexible foundation that can support many different styles and technology options,” according to the company.

“At Local Motors, we are hellbent on revolutionizing manufacturing,” said John B. Rogers, Jr., CEO and co-founder of Local Motors. “Car manufacturers have been stamping parts the same way for more than 100 years. We now have the technology to make the process and products better and faster by linking the online to the offline through [direct digital manufacturing]. This process will create better and safer products, and we are doing exactly that.”

Local Motors members who have their ideas incorporated into the car will earn points for their contributions, along with monetary rewards.

Local Motors plans to design, build and sell a low-speed electric vehicle (LSEV) iteration of the car (which will debut early in 2016), along with a highway-ready version later that year. The car will be manufactured at Local Motors’ Knoxville microfactory. The LSEV version should sell for between $18,000 and $30,000.

The winning entry was chosen after a voting process that included the Local Motors community, as well as a professional judging panel consisting of former “Tonight Show” host and car enthusiast Jay Leno; SEMA Vice President of Vehicle Technology John Waraniak, and SABIC Senior Manager Geert Jan Schellekens.

The company also unveiled a fleet of Local Motors Co-Created University Vehicles (LOCO), with participation from the University of Michigan, Arizona State University and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. U of M and UNLV are focusing on autonomous vehicle technology, while Arizona State will conduct research on advanced materials. The work at the schools will help advance the delivery of Reload Redacted vehicles.

Source: Local Motors