TWO Italians, Francisco Liu and Ampelio Macchi had quietly launched
their open-sourced, build-it-yourself car, called the Tabby, at the Maker Faire
Europe in Milan last October.
Their company, OSVehicle, build a universal
chassis that can be assembled in under 60 minutes, can accommodate two to four
passengers, and is compatible with all types of electric motors or internal
combustion engines.
The idea grabbed the imagination of all the media at the conference, with Italian television devoting 41 minutes and 40 seconds to the Tabby. On the stage during the opening conference, thousands also watched the online streaming, with an audience of more than 800 top designers in the room.
This impressive reaction by the world’s trend-setting car lovers
should make other car-makers sit up and take note.
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| The bare bones of the Tabby can be mail-ordered and a mechanic can assemble the parts in less than an hour |
A month later, Durban-schooled Gordon Murray showed his take on a
world car, also built on a standard platform that can easily be changed to fit
different needs.
The two developments underscore the feasibility of open-source
vehicles as the world’s car buyers demand transport that is both more individual
and easy to assemble.
As we predicted in Witness
Wheels, the time will yet come when our grandchildren will print the
panels of their latest cabin at the 3D-print shop on the corner, to glue or bolt
to their standard rollcage.
