Carmakers are always looking for new materials to make their vehicles lighter, but this one came out of left field: Lexus just made a working electric vehicle out of cardboard.
Most of it, anyway. The Lexus Origami Car’s chassis, interior and wheels are made up of 1,700 laser cut pieces of cardboard modeled after the company’s IS Saloon vehicle; it took three months to assemble.
The lights and motor are of course made of other materials, and it obviously isn’t intended for the road. The cardboard seats sound like a recipe for papercuts, and we don’t think paper is a suitable material for mirrors that actually reflect things.
Still, it’s a pretty crazy feat of engineering, and it it just looks pretty darn awesome. Between this and hoverboards, it looks like Lexus engineers are having a whole lot of fun.
➤ Lexus unveils full-size origami inspired car [Toyota via Engadget via Autoblog]
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