If you've ever wanted to build your own Batmobile, this super fast 3D printed car is as close as you will get to the real thing.
Known as 'Blade,' the car goes from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.2 seconds and has a body that has been build using Lego-like parts, which its manufacturers Divergent Microfactories (DM) say will dramatically change the way we currently manufacture cars.
DM may have a point. Blade's car parts look like a sophisticated Lego set for grown-ups.
Instead of brightly coloured bricks, DM uses '3D-printed aluminum joints, known as Nodes that connects pieces of carbon fibre tubing to make up the car’s chassis.'
The body of car is also 3D printed allowing the automobile to be quite light -- it weighs 1,400 pounds.
As with most DIY jobs, there will always be underlying doubts about the quality of the finished product. However, according to 3dprinted.com, the vehicle would carry a '4-cylinder 700-horsepower bi-fuel internal combustion engine,' allaying any fears about an unfulfilled need for speed.
The car is still a prototype but if it can be scaled up, DM will have created a vehicle that is not only environmentally friendly, but also requires fewer resources to build.
READ MORE:
In a statement Kevin Czinger, founder and CEO, Divergent Microfactories said:
"At Divergent Microfactories, we’ve found a way to make automobiles that holds the promise of radically reducing the resource use and pollution generated by manufacturing.
"It also holds the promise of making large-scale car manufacturing affordable for small teams of innovators. And as Blade proves, we’ve done it without sacrificing style or substance.
We’ve developed a sustainable path forward for the car industry that we believe will result in a renaissance in car manufacturing, with innovative, eco-friendly cars like Blade being designed and built in microfactories around the world.”
If Blade proves to be a success, it could place the reigns of car manufacturing in the hands of people like you and I.