Brothers Cody and Tyler Kor first showed off a version of their 3D-printed three-wheeler at the 2010 SEMA show. A lot has happened since then, and now the Kors are planning to be, as ZZ Top put it, “bad and nationwide” by taking their Urbee 2 from New York to San Francisco and back. The Kor brothers, along with their dog Cupid, say they’ll be able to make a one-way, 2,900-mile trip using just 10 gallons of gas, Reuters says. The round trip will take 44 hours and is a tribute of sorts to the 1903 cross-country journey undertaken by early motoring enthusiasts Horatio Nelson Jackson and mechanic Sewall K. Crocker. Only the Kors will use about 790 fewer gallons.
The Urbee 2 uses an ethanol-electric hybrid system that provides 16 horsepower for the 1,200-pound vehicle and can push it to a top speed of 70 miles per hour. The super-aerodynamic car has steel chassis tubing and is covered with 3D-printed plastic panels, keeping the car light and (we hope) safe. The whole endeavor is a family affair. Kor EcoLogic, run by the brothers’ father Jim Kor, started road-testing a version of the Urbee in Spring 2011 and said at the time that it was hoping to build a limited production version by 2014.
