Toyota will unveil an electric roadster made almost entirely of wood at Milan Design Week next month.
The Japanese automaker calls its latest concept car Setsuna, which is a Japanese word meaning "moment." The name is meant to represent the fleeting moments people experience with their cars, Toyota said in a press statement.
"The decision to use wood—a material that is durable yet prone to change over time — reflects Toyota’s efforts to give form to the developing relationships between people and their cars," the company said.
Because it is made of wood, the car will evolve over the years and "develop a complex and unique character," Kenji Tsuji, the Toyota engineer overseeing development of the Setsuna, said in a statement.
The designers also included a 100-year meter inside the car which is meant to keep track of time as the car is passed down from one generation to the next.
The frame, floor, seats, and exterior panels all have wood incorporated into the design.
The Setsuna is still very much a concept car, though, and is not street legal. However, it is driveable.
The company said the car is powered by an electric motor, but did not share any other details about range.
According to a Forbes report, though, the the car is powered by six 12-volt lead acid batteries and has a range of about 15 miles with a full charge.
The company currently has no plans to sell the car, but a spokesperson told Forbes they plan on getting lots of feedback from designers and other experts and may eventually some design elements in developing future vehicles.
