Stop the presses! We have officially arrived in the "future" as the world's first 3D-printed car just rolled off the assembly line.
Called the Strati, the auto was manufactured here in Phoenix at the tech company, Local Motors, and is a fully functioning prototype that was made almost entirely by a 3D-printer.
Making its world debut at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in early September, the Strati was created in only 44 hours, according to Local Motors. But that's just the beginning, said the tech company, as they are hoping to get that manufacturing time down to just 10 hours in the very near future.
"We expect in the next couple of months [printing a complete car] to be below 24 hours and then eventually get it below 10 hours," Local Motors CEO John Rogers said.
The design for the Strati was chosen from 200 proposals in the hopes of finding one that was at once practical from a 3D-printing standpoint as well as functional and stylish. The winning design came from Michele Anoe of Italy, whose strong, real-world design impressed the folks at Local Motors.
Made with an all-electric engine, the two-seater "neighborhood" prototype can go up to 40 mph with a range of 120 miles.
3D-printing burst onto the worldwide tech scene just a few years ago and everything from buildings to human ears have been made using the technology.
It will be interesting to see what automakers do with this new prototype, but it would be an exciting/weird future indeed if all cars eventually just needed to be "printed out."
