Meet the Hackrod La Bandita Speedster, the world’s first full-sized 3D-printed car, modeled using virtual reality and engineered with artificial intelligence.
Hackrod is a digital manufacturing company based in California. It worked with German industrial giant Siemens to produce the La Bandita.
Both want to customise cars based on Hackrod’s 3D-printed chassis made out of aerospace-grade alloy. Hackrod says the La Bandita concept serves as proof of a new design-to-production methodology.
“Hackrod’s factory of the future, powered by the Siemens Digital Innovation Platform, will enable individuals, start-ups and small enterprises the unprecedented capability to create the product or their needs or dreams as easily as playing a video game,” it says.
There’s a hint of early Jaguar design cues in the La Bandita, particularly those of the C- and D-Type models of the early 1950s.
The CEO of Hackrod is Mouse McCoy, a familiar name in the Baja 1000 documentary ‘Dust to Glory’. McCoy started his automotive career in off-road events like the California Baja before moving to film and commercial enterprises. Now he’s looking to bring future-thinking automotive design and production to the world.
The Hackrod story continues, saying it “draws from the artistry and individuality of 20th century ‘Hotrodding’ and the rebellious, tech-savvy innovation of ‘hacker’ culture to empower the everyman to create the vehicle of his dreams or needs.
“We are developing a process that will become a platform enabling truly bespoke manufacturing with guaranteed engineering solutions, a world where consumer becomes creator and every design is tailored to the needs and tastes of the individual.”
The La Bandita’s bodyshell is a one-piece aluminium structure 3D-printed from the same aerospace alloy as the chassis.
