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Local Motors Rally Fighter gets driven by Translogic

Zach Bowman — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:59:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Technology, Videos, Off-Road

Local Motors Rally Fighter takes flight - Click above to watch video after the jump

We've been itching to slide behind the wheel of the Local Motors Rally Fighter since we first got word of the off-road coupe. The $70,000 beast gets its power from a 430-horsepower, General Motors-sourced V8 engine, and it boasts enough ground clearance to tackle the Baja 1,000 on its way to the grocery store. We haven't gotten an invite to come play in the dirt with Local Motors just yet, so we'll just have to live vicariously through the crew at Translogic. The show recently spent some time in the cockpit of the Rally Fighter, took a quick tour of the Local Motors manufacturing facility and spoke with head honcho Jay Rogers.

Color us jealous.

Rogers took the time to speak about the development process behind the Rally Fighter, including the decision to use tail lamp housings from the Honda Civic Coupe, how the design came together and the huge role that crowd sourcing played in the vehicle's development. Hit the jump to check out the video for yourself.

Continue reading Local Motors Rally Fighter gets driven by Translogic

Local Motors Rally Fighter gets driven by Translogic originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEMA 2010: Local Motors puts five Rally Fighters on display

Jeff Glucker — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:58:00 EST

Filed under: SEMA Show, Performance, Off-Road, MISC

Local Motors Rally Fighters at the 2010 SEMA Show - Click above for high-res image gallery

Just like it promised, Local Motors has come to the 2010 SEMA show with five ready-to-rock Rally Fighters. The crowd-sourced design is paying off, because LM says that another five should be done before we switch the calendar over to 2011.

On hand are the two prototype vehicles, known as Beta 1 and Beta 2, while the other three Rally Fighters represent the first vehicles going to customer homes. Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, naturally scooped up the first example and he uses it as his daily driver. (Awesome.) The other two customer cars are going to face two very different lives; the one going to Jay Zuppardo and his family will be turned into a sand rail, while the other going to John Domolky will be used as a daily driver vehicle in his hometown of Boston. See them all for yourself in our high-res gallery below.

Gallery: SEMA 2010: Local Motors Rally Fighters

SEMA 2010: Local Motors puts five Rally Fighters on display originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Local Motors ups Rally Fighter fleet to 5 vehicles, all going to SEMA

Jeff Glucker — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: SEMA Show, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Design/Style, Off-Road

Local Motors Rally Fighter in action - Click above to watch video after the jump

Local Motors, the car builder behind the idea of open-source automotive development, showed off its Rally Fighter at SEMA last year. At that time, it only had one car built. Fast forward to the 2010 SEMA show and Local Motors is bringing five of the coupes to Las Vegas.

Each vehicle wears a skin designed by someone in the Local Motors online community. The first car is known as Beta 1, and wears images of Teddy Roosevelt and Pancho Villa on its sides. Beta 2, the company's second test vehicle, wears livery inspired by Rocky. It was built alongside the three customer-built models to explore the same build process they experience.

The first non-test vehicle was purchased by Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers, which is being used as a daily driver vehicle. Its color scheme was created by a community member who had only been active for 14 days when his vote was chosen. Rally Fighter number four is going to customer Jay Zuppardo, whose family enjoys off-roading and plans to turn the red, white, blue and orange-schemed Local Motors vehicle into a sand rail.

The fifth vehicle is going to the original sales person for Local Motors, John Domolky. His simple black and white paint scheme tones down the exterior style elements of the vehicle without losing its unique appearance. This is crucial for Domolky because he is the first customer to place the vehicle into an urban environment. Rather than commuting around Arizona like the CEO, John Domolky is going to drive his Rally Fighter around the streets of Boston.

Local Motors says it should double the number of Rally Fighters on the road to 10 by the years end. Take a look at the Rally Fighter in action in the video after the jump.

Gallery: Local Motors Rally FIghter

[Source: Local Motors, YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Local Motors ups Rally Fighter fleet to 5 vehicles, all going to SEMA

Video: Local Motors ups Rally Fighter fleet to 5 vehicles, all going to SEMA originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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