Local Motors, Chicago have developed a novel invention and test driven the world’s first 3D printed electric car—named Strati, Italian for “layers.”
The Chicago-based company hope that by 2015, people will be able to work into a car dealership and with the push of a button, print off their ideal car , and driving it home the next day. Sounds crazy, but that could become a reality next year.
“There are no tools. There’s no dye. There’s no pattern. Those things cost 10’s of millions of dollars. It’s being free cast, printed out of a machine. No materials wasted. It’s just what you get,” said Local Motors CEO Jay Rodgers.
Rogers says the initial retail cost will start at $18,000 and go upwards of $30,000. However, when it comes time for a change, many of the parts can be reused.
“Because you can literally print the car any way you want, if your family goes from two people to three–with a child, you trade in and recycle the center part of your car and all the components that outfit the family. Whatever you can imagine is what this process can entail,” said Rogers.
Rogers believes Local Motors could start manufacturing vehicles by 2015, with initial use on city streets, before getting approval for highway use down the road.