Lotus F1 Team Creates 'Mad Max: Fury Road' Inspired Car Using Printed Wraps

IRVINE, Calif.—May 29, 2015—In cooperation with Warner Bros. Pictures, Lotus F1 Team has created a new F1 racing machine suitable for a post-apocalyptic future. The new car—the Lotus F1 Team Mad Max Hybrid—was created to coincide with the May 15th launch of the 2015 epic action adventure "Mad Max: Fury Road," from Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures.

The rat-look Lotus Hybrid was fitted with a new skin printed on a Roland SOLJET PRO4 XR-640 using a 3M Wrap Film 1080-M230 Matte Grey Aluminum, an unlaminated metallic film from 3M. The printed film was then applied to the vehicle, transforming the vehicle from gleaming supercar to something at home in the Australian wasteland.

“With a project like this, with such tight deadlines and zero margin for error, our Roland printer was invaluable," remarked Joe McNamara, Lotus F1 Team Graphics. "We rely on the speed and reliability of the SOLJET PRO4 XR-640  to ensure these products are realized in the time limits we have."

He continued, "The print was run overnight, unattended, automatically rolled onto the take-up unit and applied to the car the next day—before being loaded and driven to Barcelona for the reveal. The winning combination of the speed of the Roland SOLJET PRO4 XR-640 and the user friendly application characteristics of the 3M 1080 matt metallic wrap film made this job not only possible, but far more straightforward."

Fitted with special accessories and heavy modifications designed for a world gone mad, the Lotus F1 Team Mad Max Hybrid was unveiled at the Barcelona International Motor Show at the Montjuïc Exhibition Centre on Friday, May 8, along with two custom, drivable vehicles designed and created for the film itself; Nux's car and the iconic Mad Max Interceptor.

Accompanying the vehicles was Lotus F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, both of whom drove Mad Max: Fury Road-branded cars in the Spanish Grand Prix, held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 9-10, 2015, where Romain Grosjean secured a respectable eighth place.

“Once again Roland has proven that we have the speed and stamina to keep up with any industry, and to produce versatile products worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster," said Brett Newman, managing director, Roland DG. "We are very proud of the role Roland DG’s technology has played in producing one of the most unique vehicle wraps  on the planet. We are sure that the combination of our SOLJET PRO4 XR-640 and 3M’s Graphite Matt Metallic film will prove a winning formula for the Lotus F1 Mad Max Hybrid team and Warner Bros.”

Con Gornell, executive vice president of European marketing for Warner Bros. Pictures, also commented, "Powerful cars and high speeds are in the DNA of Mad Max, and the Lotus F1 Team Mad Max Hybrid is emblematic of that spirit. We’re delighted to work with Lotus F1 Team to bring a little of the Wasteland to the Spanish Grand Prix."

More than a decade in the making, "Mad Max: Fury Road" is filmmaking mastermind George Miller’s keenly anticipated return to the post-apocalyptic world he created more than 30 years ago with the seminal Mad Max trilogy.

About Roland DG
Roland DG is a leading manufacturer of products designed to help professionals and hobbyists transform their imagination into reality, including SOLJET, VersaCAMM, VersaUV and Texart series large-format inkjet devices, MDX milling and EGX engraving machines, CAMM-1 and STIKA vinyl cutters and MPX photo impact printers. In 2010, the company entered the healthcare market with Easy Shape DWX milling machines designed specifically for creating high-quality dental prosthetics. Roland DG also recently introduced the monoFab series of desktop 3-D printers and milling machines for rapid prototyping and manufacturing. The company uses its proprietary cell production technology to manufacture products that are distributed worldwide.

Source: Roland DG.