Do you remember the Flintstones Trunk Mobile? Well, it is not that the Toyota engineers have been inspired by it (or not confessedly), but the new prototype of the Japanese company does resemble the vehicle that Pedro Flintstone and Pablo Mármol drove at full speed in at least one of its characteristics: which is made primarily of a material accessible in the Paleolithic .
Presented today at Milan Design Week , the Setsuna concept car – which means “moment” in Japanese – does not incorporate a single gram of plastic and the exterior features various types of wood , especially cedar and birch. And as a work of art, it is designed to last more than a century – the dashboard has a clock that marks up to those hundred years – and is inherited from father to son. The idea is that the components of the car, sensitive to the effects of temperature and humidity, age, like good wines, together with their owners.
The bodywork of this electric convertible consists of removable panels that have been attached without using a single nail or rivet thanks to a traditional carpentry technique called okuriari . It measures three meters in length and barely 97 centimeters high, reaches a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour and the seats are upholstered in elegant leather. Inside, the mechanical components are necessarily metal, a concession that doesn’t spoil the elegance of this low-tech quirk.
Unfortunately, we will not see the Setsuna circulating on the streets, because it will not be put on sale : those responsible for Toyota only want to see the reaction of the public and the experts to incorporate ideas into future models of the brand .
