Continuous tailor heat-treated blanks

A method of forming a tailored precursor of a metal blank comprising:

• selectively heating a sheet of high-strength metal alloy in a first region to a temperature below a melting point of the metal alloy with a heat source, wherein a second region of the sheet adjacent to the first region remains unheated, wherein the selectively heating creates a first region of the high-strength metal alloy having at least one material property distinct from the second region;
• and
• cutting the sheet to form a blank that comprises a portion of the first region and a portion of the second region.

A high-strength structural automotive component comprising:

• a unitary three-dimensional body portion formed of a high-strength metal alloy having a first region exhibiting at least one material property distinct from a second region, wherein the second region has a strength of greater than or equal to about 1,100 MPa to less than or equal to about 2,000 MPa and the unitary three-dimensional body portion is free of any welds, joints, or other connections.