Rally Fighter Goes Baja

Cetane_100 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:35:41 +0000

It looks like the open source model can work for building new cars after all. The Local Motors Rally Fighter was to see at SEMA, and it is even more awesome in person than in pics. The interior on this pre-production car obviously still needs some work, but the rest is really impressive. Looking like some crazy mashup of a fighter plane and a SCORE rally truck. The passion of the principles is obvious and it’s clear that the vehicle has been well thought-out. While much of the Rally Fighter is unique, they weren’t bashful about borrowing off-the-rack parts where they knew good ones already existed – Ford F-150 uprights that have been proven at Baja, a Mercedes bumper support system, Fox off-road shocks, a healthy but frugal BMW diesel from the 335d, and the list goes on and on. The story of this vehicle is in its revolutionary yet simple development process – it was designed and developed by a community of car enthusiasts. New American car company Local Motors invites anyone with a passion for cars to collaborate in an open design process to help choose and shape the look of each Local Motors vehicle. Now home to over 4,000 car designers, engineers and enthusiasts, the Local Motors community is the largest of its kind – and the only to bring a new car to market.

Interesting specs:

BMW 335d

3.0 Liter, Turbocharged Inline 6-Cylinder Engine

6 speed automatic transmission

265 Horsepower @ 4200rpm

425 lbft @1750 RPM

Rear Wheel Drive

Clean Diesel

Rally Fighter Goes Baja is a post from: Diesel Racer

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Diesel Rally Fighter

Cetane_100 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:04:21 +0000

Local Motors, the revolutionary American car company, will begin taking reservations for its daring new desert racing vehicle, the Rally Fighter. Local Motors has the world’s largest community of car designers and engineers embracing open collaboration to develop innovative cars for underserved, passionate enthusiast communities. Local Motors cars are built in regional Micro-Factories, which will be a groundbreaking fusion of advanced, small-volume manufacturing and amazing ownership experiences.
The Rally Fighter is an off-road racer, custom designed and built for the deserts of the American Southwest. The first of its kind, the Rally Fighter was designed by community member Sangho Kim of Pasadena, California, and developed in open collaboration with the Local Motors community. This community, at www.local-motors.com, includes car enthusiasts, designers and engineers from around the globe.
Sangho and Local Motors did not aim to design a car everyone wanted, they aimed to design a car for a specific niche within their community: desert racers. Local Motors CEO, Jay Rogers says, “If you aim to please everyone, you will please no one. With each car Local Motors develops and builds, we aim to satisfy the passions of car enthusiasts in specific regions. By including our community in the development process, we can deliver the car that customers want. The Company is certainly part of the decision making process, but more than anything we are here to listen to desires and make great cars.” The 3,000 community members at Local Motors discussed and voted on body styling, engine choice and even interior design for the Rally Figher. The final result is an intensely capable and head-turning desert racer.
Key Stats:

Original, welded steel tubular space frame with lightweight thermoplastic and carbon fiber body panels
BMW M57 clean diesel engine
Eye-popping 36mpg on the highway, or 30mpg in an off-road setting
425 lb-ft of torque, 265 horsepower, and only 3,100 lbs
18″ of suspension travel, to take on any desert–jumps and all
Manually adjustable dual ride-height options, to go from the desert to the city with ease
Seats for 4 adults, or 2 adults & 3 children

The Rally Fighter will be built in limited production in unique, regional Micro-Factories. The first Micro-Factory will be built in Phoenix, Arizona and will create 50 new, high-paying jobs–great news for our American automotive industry. Local Motors will soon announce cars for several more regions around the United States, and aims to eventually build 25-50 Micro-Factories catering specifically to car enthusiasts in local regions. This local car company is aiming to create 2,500 new automotive jobs nationwide in the next few years.
“We are passionate about American automotive. We want to bring the fun and pride back and we will do it one region at a time,” says Rogers.
Because they are local, Local Motors is able to offer a unique “Build Experience” with every vehicle purchase. Customers are invited to join experts in the regional Micro-Factory to build their own car. The program is customized for both the novice and the pro, and crafted specifically for car lovers. “Local Motors customers get the whole experience” says Mike Pisani, Vehicle Engineer and Car Builder, “They help design and develop the car they want, then they build it and in the process learn everything they need to know to maintain it. The Rally Fighter is not a disposable appliance, they are limited edition; only 3,000 will every be built. This is a car and an experience you can keep with you for a lifetime.”
You do not have to be a part of the community to buy the Rally Fighter. And if you don’t want to do your own maintenance, the Local Motors Micro-Factory doubles as a service station. Pisani says they plan to go so far as to pick vehicles up from customers’ homes, take them to the Micro-Factory for service, and return them — yet one more element of the innovative Local Motors ownership experience.

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Rally Fighter Goes Baja

Diesel Rally Fighter