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In a matter of just two days A US Auto Company created a 3D printed electric car and took it for its first test drive! Local Motors printed out the vehicle at the International Technology Show in Chicago, and they’re adamant it’ll be the first of many more. The companies’ vision is that worldwide micro-factories will be able to print you a road-safe car on demand, with the intention of being able to upgrade your vehicle as often as your mobile phone. The 3D printed car has been named Strati, which means “layers” in Italian. The top speed for the Strati is 40mph and a range of 120 miles on one charge.A company called “Local Motors” is part of an astonishing development team that manufactured the vehicle. The 3D Electric car is entirely made with carbon fibre plastic and only consist of 50 parts! The vehicle was printed with a large 3D printer set up at McCormick place. The whole main body of the Strati, including chassis, fenders, bonnet, dashboard, and so on, is 3D-printed out of an ABS-based filament reinforced with carbon-fibre. Some parts such as the motor, battery and suspension are not printed. The concept is not quite there yet, however unlike an earlier 3D-printed vehicle concept, such as the Urbee unveiled back in 2010, it doesn’t have a metal chassis underneath. The Strati concept began only six months ago, that means that six months before the launch of the International Manufacturing Technology Show this concept hadn’t even been thought of. All attendees that were invited to the event were able to see first-hand the body of an entire car being printed layer by layer over a two day period. The company involved in the concept has advised that the initial retail cost will start at 18,000 US Dollars. The 3D printed electric car is incredibly economical and environmentally friendly… “Because you can literally print the car any way you want, if your family goes from two people to three–with a child, you trade in and recycle the centre part of your car and all the components that outfit the family. Whatever you can imagine is what this process can entail” Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers. Jay Rogers believes that Local dealerships could start manufacturing printed vehicles as soon as 2014, with initial use on city roads, before getting approval for motorway use. What do you think?