What's the news?
I know this sounds like an April Fools' but I've checked and it's only March 11th. So either Toyota has mixed up its calendars, or it's been listening to Peter Ustinov's The Grand Prix of Gibraltar comedy sketch. Why? Because in that the great Ustinov speaks of a racing car from the French SADCDVEB (Societé Anonyme De Constructeur De Voiture En Bois) "with its revolutionary wooden engine..."
That's because Toyota has made a concept car out of wood. Yes, wood. It's called the Setsuna (it means 'moment' in Japanese) and it will make its debut during Milan Design Week next month. While nothing has been said about an engine, the entire body, frame, exterior panels, floor and much of the seats have been made of wood.
Toyota says that the car isn't a serious production proposition but is meant to symbolise the way cars age and wear over time, 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.
Kenji Tsuji, the Toyota engineer overseeing development of the Setsuna, said of his process: "We evaluated various ways to express the concept and selected different lumber materials for specific applications, such as Japanese cedar for the exterior panels and Japanese birch for the frame. We also paid particular attention to the sizes and arrangements of individual parts. For the assembly structure, we adopted a traditional Japanese joinery technique called 'okuriari' which does not use any nails or screws. The completed body line of the Setsuna expresses a beautiful curve reminiscent of a boat. We would also like the viewer to imagine how the Setsuna will gradually develop a complex and unique character over the years. 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."