The world’s fastest drone is 3D-printed
What does a blend of DIY engineering and fabrication, mixed with a clear goal, get you? A fully 3D-printed drone that has just reclaimed the title of the world’s fastest quadcopter.
The video below follows South African engineer and YouTuber Luke Maximo Bell and his father as they push their custom-built quadcopter, the Peregreen V4, to its limits in an attempt to reclaim the speed record from a rival team.
What sets this project apart is its accessibility. Rather than relying on specialised industrial tooling, the body of the Peregreen V4 is printed in one piece using a consumer-accessible Bambu Lab H2D 3D printer, combining a mix of materials to balance strength and aerodynamics.
The result? The drone hit an average verified speed of around 657 km/h (408 mph) across two runs in opposite directions — a figure that not only reclaimed the Guinness World Record but shows just how far (and fast) small-scale, open-platform engineering has come.
Throughout the video, Bell walks viewers through the design process: from choosing the right brushless motors and trimming propellers for top-end performance to polishing the body for reduced drag.
Luke’s father, Mike Bell, shares additional insight in the video below:
