Jan 28, 2016 | By Kira
Buick, Ford and Audi are just a few of the leading auto manufacturers that are either already using, or plan to use, 3D printing technology in their upcoming car models. Yet when it comes to the ultimate luxury driving experience, you can’t go wrong with 3D printed Ferrari. While the Italian luxury sports car maker hasn’t actually released a 3D printed vehicle (yet), it did select a 3D printed prototype, titled ‘Manifesto Concept,’ as the official winner of the Ferrari Top Design School Challenge 2015.
The Ferrari Top Challenge 2015—the third installment of the renowned competition—challenged students from 50 prestigious engineering and design schools from around the world to come up with a refined and coherent concept for what the ‘Ferrari of the Future’ could look like.
Of the 50 participating design schools, 8 made it to the second round, and only 4 made it to the finals: Germany’s Hochschule Pforzheim, Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, South Korea’s Hongik University (which won the 2011 Ferarri Top Challenge), and finally, ISD-Rubika Institute in Valenciennes, France. The latter is known for its cutting-edge computer-modeling course that embraces structured interdisciplinary projects.
Three of the finalists’s concepts were 3D printed into realistic and high quality prototypes by Skorpion Engineering, a 3D printing and rapid prototyping company located in Italy, and one of those 3D printed Ferrari prototypes, designed by six students from the ISD-Rubkia Institute, won the coveted top prize.
Skorpion Engineering utilized stereolithography 3D printing technology to 3D print the concept Ferraris with as much detail and realism as possible. After the 3D printing process, each prototype was assembled and finalized by the Skorpion Engineering team, which used a specialized finishing process to give the futuristic 3D printed Ferraris the realism and ultra-sleek designs that ultimately wowed the judges.
The Ferrari Top Design Challenge 2015 jury, made up of a broad range of Ferrari experts and fans, including designers, engineers, drivers and even collectors, unanimously chose the Manifesto Concept 3D printed Ferrari prototype as the winning design. Ultimately, the concept car’s ‘coherent overall vision,’ which spanned the exterior, cabin, and running gear, was most in line with what Ferrari envisions its 2040-model sports cars could look like. And thanks to the high quality, realistic 3D printed prototype, the judges were able to get up and close and personal with each incredibly well-designed detail.
The six ISD-Rubika students who designed the winning Ferrari Concept Car are Michael Barthly, Grimaud Gervex, and Jean Baptiste Epinat from France, as well as Michael Kalyvianakis, Stanislas Oleksiak, and William Stock from Belgium. Ferrari also ran a social media poll via its Facebook page to determine the “Premio Speciale,” which went to ‘De Esfera,’ the concept car designed by students from Hongik University in Seoul.
Two additional 3D printed Ferrari Top Challenge finalists
This isn’t Ferrari’s first brush with 3D printing. A few years ago, metal 3D printing company Voxeljet helped to refurbish Ferrari’s 312P race engine. With Local Motors already set to launch the world’s first consumer 3D printed car, a 3D printed Ferrari by 2040, or even sooner, doesn’t seem that far fetched at all.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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