The wooden Toyota Setsuna lumbers into Milan Design Week – Autoblog (blog)

Toyota to Debut the Setsuna Tip Vehicle at Milan Design Week

Toyota City, Japan, March 4, 2016―Next month, Toyota will certainly make a fittingly stylish initial appearance at Milan Design Week1 by debuting the Setsuna, an attractive brand-new Tip Vehicle earned primarily of wood.

Setsuna

The decision to usage wood―a material that is durable yet prone to modification over time―reflects Toyota’s efforts to offer form to the making relationships between individuals and their cars. The Setsuna symbolizes exactly how cars undergo a gradual transformation over the years, as if absorbing the aspirations, memories, and emotions of multiple generations of a family. Along with the Setsuna concept, Toyota is expressing the notion that, as a family accrues time and experiences with each other Along with their car, lovingly caring for it and passing it on to the next generation, that Vehicle will certainly obtain a brand-new sort of value that only the members of that family can easily appreciate.

The car’s name―Setsuna, meaning “moment” in Japanese―was decided on to reflect that individuals experience precious, fleeting minutes with each other Along with their cars. Toyota believes that, over time, these collective minutes make their cars irreplaceable to their owners.

To embody this concept, Toyota decided on a lot of distinctive types of wood for various portions of the car, including the exterior panels2, frame, floor, and seats. Wood provides uniquely appealing characteristics that are not offered in conventional cars: it can easily last for lots of generations if properly taken care of and it likewise adjustments in coloration and texture in response to its environment (particularly temperature and humidity) and conditions of use, taking on a unique character and depth.

Kenji Tsuji, the Toyota engineer overseeing progress of the Setsuna, said of his process: “We evaluated various means to express the Tip and chosen various lumber components for individual applications, such as Japanese cedar for the exterior panels and Japanese birch for the frame. We likewise paid particular focus to the dimensions and arrangements of personal parts. For the assembly structure, we adopted a traditional Japanese joinery technique called okuriari3 which does not usage any sort of nails or screws. The completed physique line of the Setsuna expresses a beautiful curve reminiscent of a boat. We would certainly likewise enjoy the viewer to imagine exactly how the Setsuna will certainly gradually create a complex and unique character over the years. The Vehicle entails a 100-year meter that will certainly preserve time over generations, and seats that combine functional beauty Along with the gentle hue of the wood.”

Main specifications

Overall length	Overall width	Overall height	Wheelbase	Seating capacity	Powertrain
3,030 mm	1,480 mm	970 mm	1,700 mm	2	Electric motor

Outline of Toyota exhibition at Milan Design Week

Duration	Media dayApril 11 (11:00 – 18:00) Public daysApril 12 – 17 (11:00 – 21:00)
Venue	Via Tortona 31, Milan