Check out this pretty authentic looking Cobra replica created on a 3-D printer. Big Area Additive Manufacturing aka 3-D printing, uses a mix of ABS plastic and carbon fiber “goop” to sequentially layer or stack said material to form an object or part, kinda like the scene in the Fifth Element when they (re)print Milla Jovovich.

The implications for the auto industry are almost endless. What took weeks or months to build by hand or in clay, can now be done in hours or days. Everything from prototyping styling ideas or creating parts molds can be done in a fraction of the time. It only took six weeks from idea generation to the Cobra replica you see here.

Local Motors started the 3-D ball rolling with its two printed cars but the bodies looked rough and granular from the printing process. The folks at Tennessee based Oakridge National Laboratory took another step by completely finishing the printed body with paint and chrome trim.

Although not really a 100% accurate recreation of a Cobra (it looks a little like a dune buggy to our eyes,) it’s light years ahead of the Local Motors project in that if you weren’t aware of the process you wouldn’t know it was printed. Electrically powered, it’s also claimed the finished body is as strong as steel at only half the weight.

President Obama and Uncle Joe Biden stopped by to have a look at this exciting new tech with our VP saying “It’s no Corvette…” Maybe not now but this printed Cobra is darn close to the real deal and evolving as you read this. The long gone Owens Corning workers building fiberglass Corvette bodies 60 years ago would be fascinated to see how their embryonic technology has evolved.

The coolest part for us car folks is most any component for an old school car could be fabricated after 3-D scanning an original part. Need that kooky script emblem for your ’61 Plymouth Fury? No problem. Roadrunner head? Done. Theoretically, ANY entire car body could be recreated too.

This technology’s ability to create a mold from a scan is really what could really blow the lid off the aftermarket parts industry. Old car guys probably don’t want parts made from plastic goop, but a mold made from aforementioned material would be cheap to create and from there a metal part could be made. Who knows, maybe BAAM technology will soon have “consumer” models and you can print molds or parts from your desktop.

Finally, all this technology is “locally” grown right here in the US. “Local” applies to where your car comes from too, not just lettuce. It’s fitting that our President came to have a look because industries like this will allow manufacturing based American communities to lead and rewrite the rules of making things. BAAM.

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