More about Jim Kor and the next iteration of his 3D-printed electric car, the Urbee, this time from Alexander George at Wired:

“To further remedy the issues caused by modern car-construction techniques, Kor used the design freedom of 3-D printing to combine a typical car’s multitude of parts into simple unibody shapes. For example, when he prints the car’s dashboard, he’ll make it with the ducts already attached without the need for joints and connecting parts. What would be dozens of pieces of plastic and metal end up being one piece of 3-D printed plastic.

‘The thesis we’re following is to take small parts from a big car and make them single large pieces,’ Kor says. By using one piece instead of many, the car loses weight and gets reduced rolling resistance, and with fewer spaces between parts, the Urbee ends up being exceptionally aerodynamic.’ How aerodynamic? The Urbee 2′s teardrop shape gives it just a 0.15 coefficient of drag.

Not all of the Urbee is printed plastic — the engine and base chassis will be metal, naturally. They’re still figuring out exactly who will make the hybrid engine, but the prototype will produce a maximum of 10 horsepower. Most of the driving – from zero to 40 mph – will be done by the 36-volt electric motor. When it gets up to highway speeds, the engine will tap the fuel tank to power a diesel engine.

But how safe is a 50-piece plastic body on a highway?

With three wheels and a curb weight of less than 1,200 pounds, it’s more motorcycle than passenger car.

‘We’re calling it race car safety,’ Kor says. ‘We want the car to pass the tech inspection required at Le Mans.'”