Would You Drive A 3D-Printed Supercar?

This Mitsubishi-powered tandem-seat supercar scares even Jay on this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage. 

When you fit a featherweight aluminum/titanium chassis with a light carbon body shell, then outfit it with a 700-horsepower tuned Mitsubishi Evo engine, you are bound to have a car that will scare the pants off a passenger (or even the driver). Jay even makes a comment that a car this lightweight would make due with a Miata engine and still be ridiculously fast. When you have someone like Jay Leno tell you that your lightweight sports car might have too much power, you know for a fact you’ve built it with too much power.

Obviously, this Divergent Blade — as the creation is known — isn’t finished like your traditional supercar with Alcantara and leather on every tactile surface. This car is built a bit more like a Caterham with a carbon shell on top. It looks wild, especially on the streets of Los Angeles, and it sounds even wilder.

With no insulation of any kind, that high-strung turbo four cylinder is taxed to its limits and resonates quite a lot inside the cabin. There were likely a lot of people on the street that day thinking “What the hell was that?”

The technology behind this car is quite fascinating with 3D printing tech just now starting to get advanced enough to build entire chassis. We can certainly see this technology taking off in the future. As a one-off, this car is intriguing, for sure. Is it ready for prime time yet? We’re not quite sure.

Check out the video to get Jay’s take on the subject. For now, we’ll defer to him. Would you buy a 3D printed monocoque supercar with a mid-engine Mitsubishi engine? How about one with a Miata engine as Jay suggests? Weigh in on the forums.

[Source: Jay Leno’s Garage on YouTube]