Lexus put wheels made entirely out of ice on one of its cars, and it worked

Lexus is no stranger to pushing its car designs to the edge of innovation — in October, the automaker made a driveable replica of its model IS using 1,700 sheets of cardboard.

Advertisement

Now Lexus is pushing a winter theme with its latest, crazy design project: putting a frozen Lexus NX on wheels made entirely of ice. Believe it or not, the car was able to drive on its ice wheels.

Lexus NX ice car
Lexus

Here's a closer look at the car and how Lexus made it:

Advertisement

Lexus teamed up with LaserCut Works, which also assisted with the cardboard car, and ice sculptors from Hamilton Ice Sculpture to create the ice wheels.

Lexus NX Ice car
Lexus

The car was first submerged in water and frozen in -22 degrees Fahrenheit for five days. "The noises from covering it in the water, I thought I had broken the car at one point, I thought I had shattered the wind screen," ice sculptor Jack Hackney said in a video.

Lexus NX Ice car
Lexus
Advertisement

LaserCut Works started with a digital design of the wheel itself to figure out how to assemble it.

Four sculptors then worked for 36 hours on each wheel.

Lexus NX Ice car
Lexus
Advertisement

"Projects such as our hoverboard, the origami-inspired cardboard car and now a dazzling set of fully functioning ice wheels, demonstrate how we use advanced technologies and the best craftsmanship traditions to achieve outstanding results," said Lexus director Richard Balshaw.

Advertisement

The sculptors payed very close attention to detail by using Japanese steel chisels and shaping tools. Even the tread patterns on the tires were reproduced.

Advertisement

And the results are startling—the nearly 4,000-pound, frozen car is able to stay on the wheels and drive.

Check out the full video here:

Transportation
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.