Lexus One-off Electric Car Prototype Must Be Seen To Be Believed

Five engineers at Lexus in the U.K. either have way too much time or their hands, or Lexus is thinking too hard about recycling and EVs. The five have built a full-scale Lexus IS Sedan complete with an electric motor – out of cardboard.

Starting with a steel and "aluminium" frame the team found their inspiration for the unusual project in origami. One the team had their idea and design in place they turned to three specialist companies, LaserCut Works, Scales and Models, and DS Smith (cardboard manufacturers) for the skills and tools they would need to create the one-off vehicle.

Complete with a steering wheel made of cardboard, and functioning headlamps, the vehicle was created to be part of a design show called Grand Designs Live in Birmingham. The team says that the hardest part were the seats and the wheels. Each part is made from 10mm slices of cardboard that were hand-glued. Each slice took 3 hours to cure and the total build time was about three months.

Check out the belo video to see how the team created the cardboard, electric IS saloon.