Wait, what?
And it’s headed to this year’s Milan Design Week, so it makes sense. Sort of.
The folks over at Morgan Motor aren’t the only ones that see wood as choice material to construct their cars. Now, automotive juggernaut Toyota shares the same perspective. Perhaps even more so since the amount of wood is much more prevalent on the Toyota.
Though, it is only a concept.
Toyota, speaking on the design decisions that led to the Setsuna’s inception, they say that wood was chosen as the primary exterior surface because it is a “material that can capture the developing relationship between people and their cars in the way it changes in appearance over the years.”
The automaker also added that the design, which you may have already surmised, took more than a few cues from a wooden boat.
The name Setsuna, which is Japanese for ‘moment’, was also chosen for a specific reason, which Toyota says “reflect how people can experience special and memorable experiences with their cars. Toyota believes that, over time, these collective moments can give cars a significant place in their owners’ lives.”
Let’s leave the wood aside for a second and get the specifications out of the way, because there aren’t any to really mention. The 3,030mm long, 1,480mm wide, and 970mm tall Setsuna is electrically powered, but Toyota has again “chosen” to only reveal small portions of the Setsuna for now. That, apparently, does not include any information on how it might drive.
Back to the car’s Japanese cedar and birch exterior, which in addition to being nautically inspired, utilises traditional Japanese boat building construction techniques that does not require unsightly screws or nails.
The Toyota Setsuna will be on public display at 31 Via Tortona in Milan from April 12th to 17th.
