German auto firm EDAG has designed a very futuristic concept car that is designed to be built using large-scale 3D printing.

The structure of this concept car takes its inspiration from the shell of a turtle. The company said that the car is based on the bionic patterns of a turtle, which has a shell that provides safety, cushioning, and protection for the animal – or, in this case, for the vehicle’s occupants.

EDAG’s concept car “Genesis” has gone on show at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, an event that is focused on the future of car design.

EDAG said that this concept car was designed in order to show the revolutionary potential of additive manufacturing. The company believes that vehicles, which are based on organic structures, cannot be built using traditional manufacturing methods. In the future, vehicles may be able to be made in one piece, using high resolution fuse deposition modelling (FDM) machines.

The car’s panels would be created layer on layer using a mixture of thermoplastic material and carbon fiber.

Although the technology to produce components with FDM machines already exists, experts believe that the chance of this concept car becoming a reality is at least ten years away.

“As for the target of using additive manufacturing to produce complete vehicle bodies, there is still a long way to go before this becomes an industrial application, so for the time being, it remains a vision,” EDAG said.

Still, the design is an interesting concept – let’s just hope that the maximum speed of this car doesn’t take inspiration from the turtle.