Your next car might not be built at a factory. Instead, it might be printed.
Local Motors, a company based in Chandler, Ariz., is saying that its 3D-printed car could be ready to take the streets as early as next year, reports USA Today.
Right now, the Local Motors car—called LM3D Swim—can by law go no faster than 35 miles per hour. It’s intended for driving around residential neighborhoods, and not for going on the highway. That functionality will come next year, when a full-service version is expected to go on sale for around $53,000.
The way the cars are created sounds like something from a sci-fi movie.
According to USA Today:
It could be a breakthrough. Its chassis would be “printed” on a machine that shoots out ribbons of carbon-fiber reinforced thermoplastics, much like toothpaste coming out of the tube.
Local Motors is looking to open two more manufacturing facilities—one in Tennessee, and another near Washington, D.C.
