The most ludicrous street-legal rally car of 2012: The Local Motors Rally Fighter

 
 The title of the most ludicrous street-legal rally car of 2012 goes to the Rally Fighter by Local Motors. This is the most ludicrous car ever built because it was designed on the internet by an online competition.

It is considered the first car ever to be openly developed and built using crowd-sourcing. This means that an online community participates on every single aspect of the design (exterior, interior, parts, and even the name) and once there's enough support for the design, Local Motors will develop it openly. During the competition to build the Rally Fighter, there were a total of 35,000 designs entered by 2,900 community members from over 100 countries.

The Rally Fighter is therefore is the most unique rally car to be ever produced and it is one of the very few vehicles in the world that is both street-legal and can enter into rally competitions.

Specs and features:

• Weighs 3800~4000 lbs; according to the different features that the customer chooses from
• Length is 189'', width is 80'', and height is 69.25'' (high ride) or 61.25'' (low ride)
• It uses a 6.2 Liter GM E-Rod V8 Engine
• It produces 430 horse power at 5,900 rpm and 424 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm
• Mid engined, rear wheel drive
• 4-speed GM 4L85E automatic transmission
• 17''x8'' aluminum alloy wheels
• 4-wheel dis brakes
• Vinyl wrapped exterior
• Available with custom seats, bumpers, roof racks, tires, wheels, wraps, trims, transmissions, and suspensions.

Technology Involved:

• Part of a unique and growing process called collaborative manufacturing. Manufactured by designers, engineers, and car hobbyists.
• Majority of the parts are off-the-shelf components: Chevy Corvette engine, Mazda Miata door handles, Ford F-150 rear end & steering wheel, Honda Civic tail lights, and a transmission from Chevy.
• Local Motors can take a new vehicle from sketch to market in 18 months. (considered very quick compared to major car companies)

    


Interesting and ridiculous facts about the Rally Fighter:

• Costs about $60,000 
• Overall design is influenced by a P-51 fighter plane.
• Customers have to go through a complicated online process to order one.
• Once the order is complete, the final assembly will be done by customers themselves in a local assembly centers as a part of a "build experience".
• The chief designer was Sangho Kim, a 30-year-old graphic artist and student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Although there was no official monetary reward for the winner of the design, Local Motors decided to give Sangho a $10,000 prize anyway.  

 
The Rally Fighter by Local Motors takes the crown for the most ludicrous rally car of 2012. It is a very unique vehicle and the process that it went through to build it from a sketch into an actual car was innovative, to say the least. The concept of collaborative manufacturing is growing and we can expect to see more interesting products that are a result of which, like the Rally Fighter, in the near future.