A California-based company unveiled a prototype supercar that it says could dramatically reduce “the pollution, materials and capital costs” that go into their manufacture.
And next week, a Phoenix company says it is ready to unveil the design for its “road-ready” 3D-printed car. Last year, it showed a fairly crude version of a car and demonstrated the process of making it at a trade show in Las Vegas.
Both moves show progress toward a car that can be built as soon as the buyer’s preferences are programmed into the machine that then makes it out of carbon fiber.
Divergent Microfactories of San Francisco recently showed what it says is the world’s first 3D-printed supercar, the Blade. The company says it’s eco-friendly because uses a combination of aluminum joints and carbon fiber tubing to make the chassis in minutes, using less material. It is envisioned as having a 700-horsepower engine that uses either compressed natural gas or gasoline. Weighing only 1,400 pounds, it would be capable of zero to 60 mile per hour speeds in about two seconds.