If you thought the Lexus Hover Board was impressive; wait until you see this. The automobile maker has just unveiled its latest bit of engineering publicity, a full sized origami styled electric car made out of cardboard.
Based on the existing IS Saloon, the special one-off vehicle was made in collaboration with LaserCut Works and Scales and Models; two London-based firms that specialize in the design and creation of prototypes, architectural models and bespoke commissions says the official press release.
Ruben Marcos, director of Scales and Models spoke about the difficulties that went into designing such a creation. "This was a very demanding job, with five people involved in the digital design, modelling, laser cutting and assembly. Just like Lexus, we were committed to producing the best possible quality."
He continues, saying:
"The seats took a few attempts to get just right and the wheels required a lot of refining. Once we could see the physical pieces taking shape, we could identify where we needed to make improvements - as with anything, there were some elements of trial and error, but as we had all the resources we needed in-house, this made the changes easier to produce."
According to the company, the goals of the project were to celebrate the skills and craftsmanship of their Takumi (a term for craftsman or woman).
The announcement also dove into some of the unique production techniques used to make the car:
Lexus provided the team with a digital 3D model of the IS, which was then divided into a series of principal parts, such as the main body, dashboard, seats and wheels. These were then digitally rendered in 10mm "slices" to provide the two-dimensional profiles needed for the laser cutting of each of the 1,700 sheets of 10mm-thick of cardboard - supplied by packaging experts DS Smith.
