MCLEAN, VA-In preparation for the building of an automobile on the show floor at The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2012, show management and Local Motors announce the Feb. 7 start of the IMTS 2012 Rally Fighter Graphic CarSkin competition. IMTS takes place Sept. 10-15 at Chicago’s McCormick Place and features the most advanced manufacturing technology in the world.

To highlight the current and future impact of collaborative manufacturing, two Rally Fighters will be showcased at IMTS. One will be built at the Local Motors micro-factory in Chandler, AZ, in March, where it will be wrapped in the winning Graphic CarSkin and will travel to various events on its way to IMTS in September. The other will be built live by the Local Motors team on the actual IMTS show floor as part of the Emerging Technology Center (ETC).

The Rally Fighter is the world’s first open source production vehicle, designed and developed by a collaboration between a global community and Local Motors, a new American car company, atwww.local-motors.com . This interactive manufacturing experience allows customers to actually build their own Rally Fighter with professional supervision. The process is efficient and sustainable at 10 times faster development and 100x less capital intensity than traditional models.

The winning skin from this competition will be installed on the Rally Fighter being built in March. Another CarSkin competition in June will determine the skin for the IMTS Rally Fighter being built on the show floor in the ETC.

The competition information can be found atwww.local-motors.com/imts or onIMTS.com/rallyfighter . Entrants will have two weeks to submit their ideas. Voting by the community for the top three designs will begin on Feb. 22, with the final design choice of those three being made by IMTS show management. The designer of the winning skin will receive $1,050 along with highlighted status on The Forge and exclusive Local Motors winners gear. Designers can join the challenge by creating and entering a car graphic skin, or by collaborating with other designers via comments and votes.

“Collaborative manufacturing and disruptive technologies are shaping the future of manufacturing. We want to give the IMTS community a taste of collaborative manufacturing in anticipation of the show. We’re encouraging everyone to get their illustration skills ready and join the competition’ says Peter Eelman, vice president, Exhibitions & Communications for IMTS. “We’re excited to start this process that will culminate with a round-the-clock build of the Rally Fighter during the six days of IMTS this fall.”

John “Jay” Rogers, Local Motors’ CEO says his company and IMTS have shared aim, “Local Motors is an open source community dedicated to learning and innovation; in this way, we’re quite aligned with IMTS. We’re so excited to share a Rally Fighter build experience and this graphic skins challenge with both our community and the IMTS community. Together we’ll create a Rally Fighter that is reflective of IMTS values and the current and future potential of collaborative manufacturing. We invite everyone to join as a designer or collaborator!”

Start Date: Tuesday, February 7th (00:00 -8UTC)

Submission Deadline: Tuesday, February 21st (23:59, -8UTC)

Community Voting Period Start: Wednesday, February 22nd(00:00, -8UTC)

Community Voting Period End: Wednesday, February 29th (23:59, -8UTC)

Winner Announcement: Monday, March 5th (06:00 -8UTC)

To learn more about IMTS 2012, visitwww.IMTS.com.