Open-sourcing the sports car

My friend Britt Blaser, founder and CEO of Open Resource Group, passed along word about a fascinating fellow named Claudio Ballard, an inventor whose obsession with automotive perfection is matched by his commitment to small, high-quality U.S. manufacturers. Claudio hosted a reception the other night at the New York Auto Show. (Said Britt: “They’re throwing a Bloggers’ reception, not a Press reception, because they know it’s a new world.”)

“Claudio and his team enthusiastically embraced our suggestion that the car’s design be an open & collaborative project. This is a first, where our oldest industry, cars, can be designed using our newest medium, online collaboration,” Britt said.

Doc wrote about the Icon GTR Roadster (pictured above) here. (When was the last time open source made you drool?)

Its a beautiful thing, and so hot it’s scary. It packs more than 800 horses
in body that barely outweighs a Miata. It will rocket you past 200 miles per
hour, and carve around curves on a suspension that’s as close to Formula One as
you’ll find off a speedway.

They’re only producing a hundred of them in their first run. They are also
interested in input as well as interest from fellow enthusiasts. This is the
open source part of the story, and one of the big reasons I’m interested in it.

No price listed (hey, if you have to ask …). Designed and built in the USA. Count ’em, 800+ horsepower.

Britt provides this background:

Claudio Ballard is an authentic American inventor and visionary. He’s also a computer guy who always wanted to own a Shelby Cobra. When he had the chance to buy one, he decided he’d rather invent a new one: a Cobra for the 21st Century.

Last summer, Doc and I started a conversation with Claudio about how the community of auto and open source enthusiasts might play a role in the development of an iconic car and an iconic company. The Collaborative Design Initiative is the result.

From Claudio’s message:

The Iconic Motors Collaborative Design Initiative (CDI) will be a continuing conversation about the best way to conceive, equip and produce cars right here in America, using the very best suppliers: little companies that normally serve the space and aeronautical industry and the people who custom-build race cars. And we’d love for you to contribute your own ideas! Using Digg-like polling, we’ll float the best ideas to the top – you will, not me. If one of your ideas wins, you’ll be rewarded monetarily and recognized publicly.

OK, I’ve got a green streak, but at the same time, I’m a testosterone-fueled guy. The Iconic Motors website is here.
JD Lasica, founder of Inside Social Media, is also a fiction author and the co-founder of the cruise discovery engine Cruiseable. See his About page, contact JD or follow him on Twitter.