Bowie and the world’s first 3D printed car
A tribute to David Bowie in the form of the world’s first 3D printed, full-scale concept car will be unveiled at this year’s Festival Automobile International (FAI).
Wednesday, 23 Jan 2019 15:17 GMT
The final design will be unveiled at Festival Automobile International 2019
Massivit has joined forces with Marie 3D, a large-format printing specialist, and renowned car designer Takumi Yamamoto, to make the project a reality.
FAI president, Rémi Depoix, says: “It is the first time in our 34-year history that we are exhibiting a full-scale car that has been entirely produced with 3D printing. Yamamoto’s concept car demonstrates immense creativity.
“We were keen to support this project and present the car almost as a piece of art, very much like a sculpture. I am very impressed with this new technology. It opens up new opportunities in terms of creativity and design for the automotive industry.”
Yamamoto pictured during the design process
By combining his passion for design with his love for Bowie, Yamamoto, who designed the Citroen GT, created a Bowie-inspired concept car that embodies the musician’s key personal and physical traits. The design incorporates a core body that represents the ‘inner Bowie’, whilst the intricate outer body reflects different looks from the singer’s chameleon-like personality.
Paris-based Marie 3D identified that other methods, such as CNC routing, would have been limiting to deliver Yamamoto’s vision, and it was decided that 3D printing would allow for more complex and creative geometry forms.
Marie 3D’s managing director, Philippe Marie, comments on the project: “This was an exciting challenge combining a work of art with a prototype. We especially enjoyed the fact that this is the first project that has allowed us complete creative control, independent of serving a car manufacturer. We have made the most of this total creative freedom.
This concept car exposes a completely new method and capabilities for prototyping through 3D printing”
“We embarked on the project to demonstrate the capabilities of our Massivit 3D printer in terms of size, speed and reliability. This technology provides a faster and significantly more cost-effective alternative to the conventional processes, supports design creativity, geometric freedom and smoother production.”
He added: “This concept car exposes a completely new method and capabilities for prototyping through 3D printing. Our goal now is to expose the possibilities to the automotive world.”
Industrial designer Cyrille Ancelly helped to develop the design and transformed the concept into a 3D model, and CG artist Alexandre Larnac turned the car’s screen-based 3D model into realistic renderings and animations, to illustrate what the concept vehicle would look like on the road – whilst maintaining the artistic inspiration of Bowie.
The concept car is due to be unveiled at FAI in Paris, from January 31st until February 3rd.
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