Toyota has designed a new concept car called Setsuna which is made almost entirely of wood. The company has announced that it will be debuting the unique car model at Milan Design Week on Monday.
While other car companies are aiming to create high-tech cars made of solid metals, the Japanese automotive manufacturer has decided to go another direction by developing a vehicle made from Japanese cedar and birch, and constructed using the carpentry technique of the country, the company wrote on Toyota Newsroom.
In the press release posted by Toyota, the company revealed the reason behind the project. The name of the design Setsuna is a Japanese word meaning "moment." From the name itself, the car is intended to reflect the precious memories of the people with their vehicles. Aware that wood changes over time, Setsuna Concept Car signify gradual transformation.
"With the Setsuna concept, 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," Toyota indicated in the said press release.
Besides the sentimental value of the new Toyota model that will be unveiled next week, the company has also made sure that it will last for a long time by choosing the right materials and wood type for specific parts of the vehicle like the frame, floor, exterior panels and seats. The company also pointed out that if well taken care of, the car can last for many generations. Drivers can expect that the texture and color of the wooden parts would change due to temperature and humidity.
The Toyota engineer for Setsuna Kenji Tsuji stated that they considered many aspects to make sure that the car would be durable. Tsuji said that the team has omitted the use of nails and screws in the assembly of the vehicle, as written in the press release.
"The car includes a 100-year meter that will keep time over generations, and seats that combine functional beauty with the gentle hue of the wood," Tsuji stated.
According to The Verge, the Setsuna Concept Car is more of a piece of art that it is a car with its unique look and purpose. The vehicle will surely capture the hearts of car lovers once it is released.
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