WITH a cruising speed of 55mph, this wooden car is a carpentry project with a difference. Created by Romanian Peter Szabo, the vehicle took more than 4,500 hours to build over three years and cost around $20,000 in hard ash wood. Nicknamed ‘Julia', the vehicle combines the retro lines and old school growl of a classic automobile with modern innovations such as tablet-controlled headlights and music. Now complete, he likes nothing better than driving the unique car around his home village - and receiving admiring waves from his neighbours.
Videographer / director: Robert Nemeti
Producer: Crystal Chung, Nick Johnson
Editor: Jack Stevens
Videographer / director: Robert Nemeti
Producer: Crystal Chung, Nick Johnson
Editor: Jack Stevens
Category
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MotorTranscript
00:00I wanted to do something absolutely unique.
00:19I had a vision for a certain form of a car.
00:24For me it was always a big happiness to design
00:28and I like to mix the modern line with the retro, classical lines.
00:35Julia is a one-off wooden concept car built by carpenter Peter Szabo,
00:40a Hungarian who now lives in Romania.
00:43He got the idea around three and a half years ago
00:46while finishing another project.
00:49I was building a wooden carriage, a horse carriage
00:52and when I was finishing I said I would like to try out also to build a car,
00:57a wooden car.
00:58I wanted to do something which doesn't exist all around the world.
01:03You can find a hard wood concept car, very good quality.
01:08It is almost impossible to find all around the world.
01:12Peter's original design drawings took him a couple of days
01:15and then he spent a month making a one to ten scale maquette.
01:19I was working with one of my friends, Matthias Szabo.
01:22He was the leader of the technical and electronic work,
01:26and mechanical work.
01:28And after one year I had to make a bigger
01:33atelier workshop because my workshop wasn't enough.
01:36So after a couple of months I started to build a car,
01:40the car, the carousery, the body of the car on ash wood.
01:46The whole process took three years and eight months.
01:49It costed 18,000 euro for me and 4,500 an hour.
01:55But also a happy time because I was crazy to work with
02:00and it was a big happiness for me to build it up.
02:05Julia has the axles and gearbox from a 1983 Ford Taunus.
02:10The car that also provided her with her 110 horsepower V6 engine.
02:15It is not important to have big speed with.
02:18Until now I have tried only here in the village.
02:22It was 80, 90 km per hour.
02:25But I think in a highway it could go faster.
02:29Peter has combined traditional carpentry with modern technology.
02:33With that tablet you are touching the screen and the lamps,
02:37the GPS and the music.
02:39The car was shown off to great acclaim
02:42at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015.
02:45Every positive reaction of people makes me happy.
02:49In Romania a lot of people are working with their hands.
02:53They know to build up something with your own hands.
02:56It's rather difficult and they appreciate it.
03:00I am happy when I see their face and their reaction about it.
03:05Given the amount of time Peter spent on the car,
03:08thankfully his family approved.
03:10My wife and our children, they are proud of this car.
03:14And of their father.
03:17And he's already thinking about his next project.
03:20I have already in my mind a futuristical design for a car,
03:24or a soft auto boot, but with an electric engine.
03:31I've got a lot of people on the road.
03:33And that's a good way.
03:34That's how we can fix it.
03:35By the way, to the airport,
03:36I've got a few bikes.
03:37And so, I haven't had a car.
03:39And it's a good idea.
03:40But what I'm going to do now,
03:41my parents, I'll be able to get on the car.
03:42And I'm going to ride the car.
03:43And it's a good idea of the car.
03:45So what I'm going to do now I'm going to do now,
03:47I'm going to do now.
03:48I'm going to do now.