Most cars we know of are made of metal, but one guy in Vietnam opted to make a functioning car made out of wood! Beware of any splinters while handling the steering wheel!
I’ve never had a desire to make my own car or fix my car – I will buy it off the lot and I will let the professionals fix it. But I do not have my own car right now, probably because I cannot afford one. (By the way, I am starting a “Get Lilly a Car Fund” and all donations are welcome!) I think the closest I can come to affording a car is a Matchbox car. But one guy decided that if he can’t buy his car, he will make one…out of wood. Using high quality wood and carving intricate designs, Le Nguyen Khang’s Achilles car has been garnering much attention along the streets of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.
Starting off as nothing more than a mere joke, Khang, owner of a wood processing firm, decided to answer the question a English friend had posed to him – “Can you make me a wooden car?” His friend did not realize this question would fester in Khang’s brain who actually started working out the logistics of building a working car from wood. He owned a wood processing firm, so getting the lumber really was not the problem; plus, he knew a bunch of professional woodworkers who would help. After the sketch was finished, it took 16 months for the car to be built, finishing in September of 2012. Now it can be seen fully functioning along the streets. It is 4.6 meters long and 1.8 meters wide and features some exquisite carvings, including the four traditional sacred animals representing nobility, beauty, and power – the phoenix, turtle, dragon, and unicorn.
According to Khang, “I named the car after Achilles, one of the greatest warriors in Greek mythology, whose entire body, except for his heel, is invulnerable. I know that my vehicle is not perfect,” but it obviously comes pretty close! The biggest drawback to the car is its overall weight. It weighs 1.5 tons and because of this, only a BMW engine was able to handle the heavy wooden body. But despite this, this car actually drives like a regular car, reaching top speeds of 60 km/h.
Some people rag on a the car because of its lack of high tech gadgets and gizmos, but Khang noted that making this car was to prove the talent that many wood processing workers throughout Vietnam have.
And you haven’t heard the last of Khang just yet. Many offers have been flooding in to buy the car. He stated that he will only sell it to someone for “adequate reasons” and all the proceeds will go to charity. His parting with the Achilles is to make way for a newer and better project – the creation of electrical wooden cars that tourists will be able to use around the downtown area of the city.
(Via: Oddity Central)
For more automobile fun, check out 25 Geeky Car Covers and 10 Amphibious Cars!
