RedEye On Demand and Stratasys have been selected by Winnipeg-based KOR Ecologic to build the first 3D-printed, production-ready car called Urbee. Photo: Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT
Jim Kor has been described as a hermit who doesn't get out much in the world.

Yet this engineer is out to change the world. His Urbee is a unique hybrid car. ###### But it can also run on fuel made from corn. It is made out of plastic, can zip across the country on 10 gallons of fuel and is produced using an advanced 3-D printer.

"We want to make the greenest car on Earth," said Kor. ######

Kor took the idea from nature. The Urbee needed to be light and strong like a falcon and fast like a cheetah. But making this happen took a special 3-D printing technology. ######

Assembling A Printed Car

By late 2011, Kor and his team had designed their dream. They built the car's body in a 3-D printing factory in Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Computers read the design software and "printed" each car part layer by layer. A plastic bumper was born, then a hood and other parts. 3-D printing has been used to make gears, grilles, tools, parts and models for other manufacturers. ######

"It became the first car to have its body 3-D-printed and now it's the greenest practical car ever made. The Urbee uses eight times less energy than the average little car," Kor said.

Traditionally, it takes years to make a model of a new car. ###### With 3-D printing, designers can tweak details on a computer and click the Print button.

Once printed, the Urbee car parts were shipped and put together back in Kor's lab in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They were outfitted with two electric motors and a small ethanol engine. ###### It's in England this month, where science and car enthusiasts are going ga-ga over the vehicle.

Dreaming Of Billions Of Urbees

"One day all cars will look like this. ... I'd like to license two-and-a-half billion Urbees," Kor said with a laugh, noting that there are only 1 billion cars in the world today. ###### We need an environmentally-friendly car like this. But it has to be low-priced, Kor said.

Two weeks ago, a 3-D printing company's customer service worker Ashley Voigt hoisted a red Urbee bumper from one of company's printing machines. "This one took a straight day and a half to make. ###### By taking the time to precisely lay each plastic fiber, she got a smooth surface that looks like a finished part.

The Future Of Urbee And 3-D Printing

During a conference about 3-D printing last month, Kor said he has already designed the Urbee 2. The first-generation Urbee gets 70 miles per gallon of fuel. ######

But Kor first needs $3 million to make the drawings real. He started raising funds in October and if he's successful, production will begin in 2014 at a 3-D printing factory in Eden Prairie. A cross-country drive from New York to San Francisco is scheduled for 2015. ######

"We'll start with a half-scale model car in 2014. Once we have that tested, we are only a month away from making the full-scale model," Kor said. Because all the designs are in the computer, it doesn't take long to scale up.

###### This car can be charged from a garage outlet or with power" from the sun.

The Urbee is one of the hottest products from the 3-D printing revolution. Twenty years ago, 3-D plastic "printing" was a garage hobby. ######]]>