Nick Kurczewski The Local Motors 3-D Printed Car on the streets of New York City, and just before the NY Daily News Autos became one of the first to get a ride in this revolutionary roadster. 
Nick Kurczewski The round headlights and separate fenders give the Strati a dune buggy style - though the body itself resembles black cake frosting. It's a unique look for a VERY unique car.
The car of the future is here! But if you don't like the shape, well, you could always have it melted down and have an entirely new vehicle printed to your specifications in approximately 44 hours – excluding the fitment of suspension components, seats, lighting and the electric engine, of course.
Welcome to the "Strati," the world's first 3-D printed car. Developed and built by Phoenix-based Local Motors, this 2-passenger roadster has the looks of a dune buggy, and the technology you'd expect from a sci-fi novel.
The Daily News Autos ventured to Brooklyn, New York, to see this car first-hand and get a ride in a vehicle that could reshape how cars are designed, built, bought, sold, and then recycled…only to be re-designed and rebuilt all over again!
Nick Kurczewski The entire body of the Strati is built up, layer after layer, by a 3-D printer. The rough edges can be sanded away for a smoother finish. 
Nick Kurczewski The battery pack and electric motor are positioned behind the cockpit of the Strati. 
Nick Kurczewski The cabin of a Strati includes two bright-red leather seats, a steering wheel, and a small digital display. That's about it!"This is about simplification and streamlining," explains Jay Rogers, co-founder and CEO of Local Motors. Rogers was present to give us a tour of the Strati and explain, exactly, 3-D printing tech brings to the automotive world. "All this material you're looking at," he says, pointing to the car, "is about $3,500 dollars."
Built of carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic, the Strati tips the scales at about 1,800 lbs. For comparisons sake, a 2014 Mazda Miata has a curb-weight of 2,480 lbs. – but also a degree of safety, performance and refinement that is miles beyond this 3-D prototype, of course.
Nick Kurczewski The rear of the Strati incorporates a subtle lip spoiler - though we're not sure it's needed on an EV with a top speed of 50 mph. 
Nick Kurczewski The Local Motors Strati weighs approximately 1,800 lbs. 
Brian Leon Without airbags, side windows, a roof, or any type of ventilation (other than endless open-air refreshment), the Local Motors Strati is a very, very basic little car.The Strati's entire body and four fenders are printed, with the build process presently taking 44 hours. Local Motors hopes to trim this time to 24 hours by the time it brings the car to production. The structure could have been built as one entire piece but, as Jay Rogers colorfully points out "people like to hit fenders." That why each fender is bolted to the body/chassis structure.
It doesn't take an engineering degree to realize the Strati is not exactly ready for the cut-and-thrust of everyday driving. There are no seatbelts or airbags, and no roof or side windows.
Brian Leon The Local Motors Strati was due in New York City for an early-morning appearance on the Today show, not to mention our tour and ride-along. 
Brian Leon Local Motors has stated a vehicle similar to the Strati will be on sale within a year.At its thinnest point, the thermoplastic platform is about 0.6-inches thick. At the strongest areas, like the central backbone of the car, the material is a couple of inches in overall thickness. "This car was made by a machine that a human didn't touch at all, period," says Jay Rogers, proudly.
Rapping our knuckles on the body – which looks "like black cake frosting," according to Autos contributor Brian Leon – the chassis and fenders have a very solid feel to them. The structure doesn't feel like some hollow plastic toy, or a flimsy backyard-built hotrod.
Granted, it's not pretty, but the prototypes ridged edges can be smoothed over with human-powered grinding and sanding. Paint can also be applied to the body-work, though this negates the Strati's near 100-percent recyclability.
You can't print engines, suspension parts, gearboxes or tires, however. So that means the mechanical bits of the Strati had to come from somewhere else. In this case, the powertrain comes from the Renault Twizy, a quirky tandem-seat electric car not sold in the U.S.
Brian Leon On the streets - and in this case, also the sidewalks - of New York City, the Local Motors Strati is pushing the boundaries of how vehicles might be built in the not-too-distant future. The battery pack and electric motor are positioned down low, behind the Strati's passenger cabin. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission. Punch the gas, and the Strati will reportedly accelerate to a top speed of 50 mph. If you run the 6.1 kWh battery pack out of juice, budget about 3.5 hours for a full recharge, at which point you'll have an estimated driving range of 62 miles.
Our brief ride on the streets, and back-alleys, of Brooklyn wasn't going to set any speed or distance records. With the Strati due to appear on national television the following morning, our ride-along was short but, thankfully, also uneventful.
Then again, getting a ride in a 3-D printed car hardly qualifies as a normal day at the office. To its credit, the Strati didn't exhibit any creaks or rattles, and the electric powertrain was whisper quiet. The red leather seats were comfortable but, with the exception of the steering wheel and a small digital instrument display attached to the column, the cabin is about as simple as a skateboard.
Jay Rogers foresees a future where customers can change their 3-D printed cars more often than they change smartphones. It's theoretically possible, he explains, for a customer to use their car for a season, return to Local Motors for a new model, and have the old vehicle melted down and reformed into something entirely different. So yes, your future minivan could one day be boiled down into a slinky sports car, at least according to Local Motors.
It's a fascinating idea, even if the Strati is still very much in the evaluation and development phase. "I don't know if I ever want to compete in the traditional automotive way," says Jay Rogers, in reference to major automakers around the world. "[The Strati] is an enabler of technology, rather than a replacement of mass automotive manufacturing."
Source : http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/news/world-3-d-printed-takes-test-drive-brooklyn-article-1.1966087
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