Lexus normally builds its luxury cars out of metal and plastic. Big deal. This Lexus is made out of cardboard. The 1:1 mostly working model of a Lexus IS was created by LaserCut Works, Scales and Models, and DS Smith in partnership with Lexus UK.
The inspiration for the project is just about as cool as the incredibly detailed and complex cardboard sculpture.
The most highly regarded workers on the Lexus production line are known as “takumi.” Each takumi must fold an origami cat with his or her nondominant hand as proof of manual dexterity. The cardboard Lexus is a tribute to the takumis and those paper cats.
As you can see in the video above, the cardboard Lexus IS began with the CAD artwork of the normal IS, digitally sliced up to find the shape of each piece of cardboard required. Precision laser cutting shaped large sheets of cardboard into the layers that would recreate not only the outside of the car, but, amazingly, its interior and doors as well.
The final result has a few noncardboard bits: working headlamps, an electric motor, and a steel-and-aluminum frame. The car’s been taken on a few very careful drives you can watch in the video. Obviously, going out in the rain is not going to happen. But it’s a beautiful sculpture they’ve made.
