Faking wood has long been a favorite pastime of automotive designers. When the small number of mid-century automobiles that used actual lumber for low-stress body panels disappeared from the landscape, faux-wood-grain finishes began appearing everywhere, from the exteriors of station wagons to the interiors of maker's entire product lineups. Only British manufacturer Morgan has continued to employ lumber in the manufacturing process on a semi-consistent basis. But that may be changing. According to a report in Automotive News, Finnish paper maker UPM-Kymmene Oyj has developed a street-legal prototype vehicle built on a frame that's partially made from tree pulp and plywood, and it plans to show the car at the Geneva auto show this March.
Referred to as the UPM Biofore concept, the manufacturer says the vehicle uses off-the-shelf products, and is designed to meet European standards for crash and fire safety and offer all the comforts of a conventional car. In addition to saving weight, using wood to fabricate components consumes less energy during production; the vehicle is even said to run on fuel made from bark, stumps, and branches known proprietorially as UPM BioVerno renewable diesel. Although no images of the UPM Biofore concept vehicle are yet available, the company insists it's more than just a marketing stunt.
About 50 technicians have worked a total of 30,000 hours on the car, and its first test drive was conducted in pouring rain in August to dispel concerns about a wood car's ability to handle moisture. UPM claims the bio-based materials, known as the UPM Formi biocomposite and UPM Grada thermo-formable wood material, use heat-shaped plywood and pulp fiber to reinforce plastic, and are competitive with other composites such as fiberglass.
Plant-based materials have been making slow-but-steady inroads to the auto industry, and more than just as trim for luxury makers. As Auto News points out, Mercedes uses hemp fibers in the interior of its A-class hatchback, VW is exploring the practice of processing cellulose and lignin from trees to make reinforced plastics and carbon fiber, and Renault has said it plans to use plant-based materials to replace up to 10 percent of the plastic in its cars.
Unlike aluminum, which, largely due to the cost of production and repair, has taken decades to filter down from luxury vehicles to common cars, wood is inexpensive, accessible, and easily shaped. These qualities encourage non-traditional thinking. But ultimately, even if the UPM Biofore concept proves to be a viable vehicle, the industry will only entertain the use of alternative materials for mass production when concerns over liability and durability are addressed, and consumers show an interest in handing over cash for a car constructed with components sourced from Home Depot.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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