Local Motors Builds Strati, the World's First 3D-Printed Car, in Detroit

The latest innovation being pioneered by Local Motors is happening right now, at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, where the company is 3D printing the main structure of a car right on the floor of Cobo Hall.

According to Local Motors, the Strati is the world's first 3D-printed car and is a refinement of a design created by Michele Anoè, who submitted the design as part of an online community project. The first of these Strati models began printing today in Detroit in an example of what the company calls a micro-factory, which "is typically located within 100 miles of major urban centers, creates more than 100 local jobs, reduces freight and distribution costs by 97 percent, increases recycling and reduces waste while speeding delivery time to market."

Two such micro-factories are currently planned; one in Knoxville, TN, and one at National Harbor, just outside Washington DC. The latter micro-factory is a collaboration between Local Motors and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and it aims to start producing these 3D-printed Strati models after construction begins in the third quarter of this year.