Local Motors added a little flair to the International Manufacturing Technology Show this past September, by live 3D-printing its Strati car. The car used a small electric powertrain from the Renault Twizy. Now, Local Motors is about to commission a sure-to-be-more-powerful vehicle – 12 of them actually. The company repeated its live printing effort at this year's SEMA Show and opened up a new contest that will see 12 tuners customize an all-new 3D-printed car.
Local Motors' ModMen Challenge tasks gear heads with customizing the new vehicle. The car won't necessarily look like the Strati because Local Motors is designing a new car with more flexibility for accommodating different powertrains.
Contestants will be able to submit their designs via Local Motors' online portal starting in late January, and the initial pool will be filtered down to 12 in March by way of a community vote. Local Motors will give each of the 12 winners an actual 3D-printed car, to build its design into reality.
"From racing, to street, to show, car modification has always been the true soul of vehicle innovation,” says Local Motors cofounder and CEO John B. Rogers, Jr. "At Local Motors, our goal is to fuel the next great generation of ‘hot rodders’ by putting the newest technology in their hands, and the ModMen Challenge does exactly that. These are not just 12 cars customized with aftermarket parts, but a peek into the future of automotive re-imagination."
The 12 contest winners will receive their 3D-printed cars in May and will have about six months to finalize their hot rods. All 12 designs will be presented at the 2015 SEMA Show, where one team will be awarded the grand prize title of ultimate "ModMan." The contest will also help inform Local Motors' research into the design of the street-legal production 3D-printed car that it plans to launch by the end of 2015.
Source: Local Motors