Audi 3D Printed a 1:2-Scale 1936 Grand Prix Sports Car

3D printing has no bounds these days. People have been creating the coolest of designs from 3D printed dresses to prosthetics to musical instruments and even weapons from video games. Now, Audi has embraced the technology of 3D printing and has blown the competition away with its 3D printed replica of a 1936 Grand Prix sports car.

Audi has taken a step forward from 3D printing plastic to experimenting with 3D printing of metal objects. The proof of their labour is seen in this race car. Metal 3D printing isn’t much different from plastic – both use the same additive process. A laser melts layers of metallic powder. The individual grains of the powder are no bigger than half the diameter of human hair. It calls the process “sand-printing.” This basically means the printer can create incredibly complex and detailed shapes.

It was following this process that the 1:2-scale Grand Prix sports car came into being. The company 3D printed the components for the half-sized car. While this new printer cannot make an entire car, it can, however, make forms as large as eight inches cubed, which is perfect for producing parts that would otherwise need a big machine -a massive job in itself.

The video shows Micheal Breme, head of Audi tool design talk about 3D printing components for cars. He is also quite optimistic about the future of this technology in the years to come.

Audi plans to put the 3D printer into series production, though you won’t be able to buy a 3D-printed A4 sedan anytime soon.