Toyota on March 4 announced that one of its concept cars will debut at the Milan Design Week in Salone del Mobile, Milan, and the upcoming piece of tech promises to be as far away from the modern understanding of the world as possible. What will it be you ask? A wooden electric car designed to mimic the look of a roadster.
The body of the fully electric vehicle, titled Setsuna, is made of different types of wood such as Japanese cedar for the exterior panels and birch for the frame, because they remain resilient as they change over time, which the company aims to showcase.
Other carmakers have made concepts or art projects that combine their vehicles with unusual materials as well. For example, Lexus designed a life-size IS sedan with laser-cut cardboard, while another had wheels made of ice. Nissan also joined in the fun at one point and made a life-size origami model. With than in mind, it's hardly surprising that Toyota would make such a crazy car concept as well.
Toyota noted that Setsuna, which means "moment" in Japanese, is meant to not only reflect its aesthetic but also aims to embody the fleeting moments people have together with their cars.
"Toyota is expressing the notion that, as a family accrues time and experiences together with their car, lovingly caring for it and passing it on to the next generation, that car will acquire a new type of value that only the members of that family can appreciate [...] these collective moments make their cars irreplaceable to their owners," the company explains.
The idea of a wooden car is already unique in its own right, but Engineer Kenji Tsuji took that uniqueness one step further by employing a Japanese technique called okuriari in order to join beams and lintels perfectly without the use of nails or screws.
Tsuji noted that the Setsuna has a 100-year meter and that time frame would allow it to be passed onto future generations, keeping the Setsuna in line with Toyota's vision of the car being the bearer of valuable memories.
It should be noted that despite all the work and engineering that went into the project, Setsuna is still a concept car, meaning that a real car won't be produced with this design. Rather, it serves as a piece of art meant to serve as a testament to Toyota's philosophy and engineering practices.
Milan Design Week will be held from April 11 to 17. The first day will be exclusive to mebers of the media while the public will have access to the exhibits for the remaining five.
