The Urbee 2 on the road. Photo: Youtube

Israeli company Stratasys, already a major player in the 3D printing field and its subsidiary, RedEye On Demand, plan on putting the first 3D printed car–named the URBEE 2– on the road within two years, in partnership with KOR EcoLogic.

How exactly is a 3D car made you ask? The process by which this one will be produced is explained by NoCamels.com: “KOR EcoLogic will be in charge of the design end, building every inch of the car using computer aided design software. The design will then be turned into reality using RedEye On Demand and Stratasys printers. While standard cars have hundreds or even thousands of small parts, the URBEE 2 will be built using only 40 extremely complex interlocking pieces, made possible by 3D printing.”

The material used to build the car will be a strong but lightweight plastic and the two-passenger vehicle will be able to travel at speeds of up to 70mph. The car will also be highly fuel efficient.

Jim Bartel, VP of Stratasys and RedEye On Demand, tells NoCamels.com that to prove how fuel efficient the car is his team will try to set a world record by traveling in the car from San Francisco to New York City on only 10 gallons of fuel.

“As a mechanical engineer, I’ve always believed we could use technology to help us solve some of society’s greatest challenges, like minimizing our dependence on oil and reducing ozone emissions,” says Jim Kor, president and senior designer for Winnipeg-based KOR EcoLogic.

He adds: “How cool is it that American manufacturing can evolve to tackle these challenges head-on? Our team is excited to launch URBEE 2, putting a next-generation vehicle on the road that will eventually be sold to the public.”

Watch a video of the URBEE 2 in action below: