At a time when all automobiles manufacturers are struggling with new models and technological advances Toyota launched… a wooden car. Yes, you read well! The Toyota Setsuna is a small electric two-seater roadster made of wood and distinguished by the material chosen for the bodywork, the chassis and the interior furniture.
Everything nestles and assembles naturally
Here, no aluminum, steel, plastic or carbon fiber. The Setsuna concept is made of wood, with different species according to the use. For example; it has Japanese cedar for body panels and birch for chassis. The whole assembled using a technique of Japanese joinery called okuriari. Everything nestles and assembles naturally which makes it possible to do without nails and screws.
This wood is able to last for several generations if it is well maintained. Ultimately, the car will have been patinated in a unique way, by the weather and the temperatures encountered during its life. This will give it a special affective value in the eyes of the family who has possessed her; to the point of becoming irreplaceable.
Inside this zero-emission vehicle, a clock graduated over 100 years is supposed to count the time that passes from one generation to the other and that stores these “moments”, the English translation of Setsuna.
On the technical level, you should know that this small automobile with two places only measures 3.03 meters long and that its wheelbase is limited to 97 centimeters. The Toyota Setsuna is powered by a single electric motor and runs on six 12-volt batteries at speeds up to 28 mph (45 km/h).
