Lexus made an incredibly intricate cardboard vehicle that can drive

This would be the 2016 Lexus IS Sedan. Even more important – how do you make it move? Was it an extreme way to loose weight?

The design of the auto was based on a 3D model provided by Lexus.

The Origami vehicle has a fully fitted interior, functioning doors, headlights and rolling wheels. Best of all, it can be driven.

Using the model to create a profile of the auto, they laser cut 1,700 sheets of 10mm-thick cardboard which were then glued together and left to dry after each application.

Powered by an electric motor, the Origami vehicle was made by a five-strong team of professional designers and modellers from specialist companies LaserCut Works and Scales And Models, supported by cardboard manufacturers DS Smith.

The end result is comprised 1,700 individual pieces of cardboard, each one laser cut by a machine and assembled and glued by hand. “There was a lot of repetition in the process and we had to work with military precision, just like the teams that make the real Lexus cars”.

Ruben Marcos of Scales and Models inspects the wheel on a full-size origami inspired Lexus IS Saloon they help build, as it is unveiled at Toyota’s Headquarters in Surrey.

The cardboard Lexus IS was created to show Lexus’s “promise of creating amazing”. The team divided the model into a number of sections, including main body, the dashboard, the seats and the wheels.

“As with anything, there were a few elements of trial and error but, as we had all the resources we needed in-house, this made the changes easier to produce”. In all, the Origami auto took three months to build.

Fortunately the public will at least get to see it in person, as it will be on display at the upcoming Grand Designs Live event in the United Kingdom starting October 8th.