Automobile sustainability is about to take another leap forward, and it will involve a lot of wood. In March, the Biofore Concept Car-a joint production by Finnish papermaker UPM and Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences-will make its first appearance at the 84th Geneva International Motor Show, March 6-16. Designed to be a futuristic, street-legal vehicle that demonstrates the use of renewable biomaterials in the automotive industry, the car is built on a frame made of carbon fiber, natural fiber composite and metal that also uses tree pulp and plywood, and it runs on fuel made from bark, stumps and branches. These materials will significantly improve the overall environmental performance of the car without compromising quality or safety, according to UPM officials. "The goal is to create a car for the future, which makes use of a wide variety of UMP's bio-based products," Kaisu Lehtomaa, a manager and team leader at UPM, told Hardwood Floors. "UMP wants to showcase its renewable materials to industries that are actively seeking these materials for products of the future. The Biofore Concept Car's design will be futuristic but practical." The car is being kept under wraps in a Helsinki warehouse, Automotive News reported in late January, adding that "Ford will use a tree-based plastic composite for interior parts of the 2014 Lincoln MKX SUV. The components are created in collaboration with forest company Weyerhauser Co. and auto supplier Johnson Controls Inc."
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Automobile sustainability is about to take another leap forward, and it will involve a lot of wood. In March, the Biofore Concept Car-a joint production by Finnish papermaker UPM and Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences-will make its first appearance at the 84th Geneva International Motor Show, March 6-16. Designed to be a futuristic, street-legal vehicle that demonstrates the use of renewable biomaterials in the automotive industry, the car is built on a frame made of carbon fiber, natural fiber composite and metal that also uses tree pulp and plywood, and it runs on fuel made from bark, stumps and branches. These materials will significantly improve the overall environmental performance of the car without compromising quality or safety, according to UPM officials. "The goal is to create a car for the future, which makes use of a wide variety of UMP's bio-based products," Kaisu Lehtomaa, a manager and team leader at UPM, told Hardwood Floors. "UMP wants to showcase its renewable materials to industries that are actively seeking these materials for products of the future. The Biofore Concept Car's design will be futuristic but practical." The car is being kept under wraps in a Helsinki warehouse, Automotive News reported in late January, adding that "Ford will use a tree-based plastic composite for interior parts of the 2014 Lincoln MKX SUV. The components are created in collaboration with forest company Weyerhauser Co. and auto supplier Johnson Controls Inc."
These are indications that the automotive industry has come a long way since, in Car and Driver's words, "faking wood." "Faking wood has long been a favorite pastime of automotive designers," wrote reporter Andrew Wendler. "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."
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