These concept cars were designed by their automakers to decay - here's why

Sustainability is an important issue for carmakers, which is why some marques have created concept cars that will completely biodegrade over time, leaving nothing behind.

We’ve all seen what happens when cars are left to rot in an old barn or field, and it’s not good. 

However, some carmakers have explored the issue by using biodegradable materials to create concept vehicles. 

From cars made of wood to one that ‘grows’ – here are three unique concept cars that were designed to rot. 

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The Toyota Setsuna was made from wood

Unveiled at Milan Design Week in 2016, the Toyota Setsuna was a car crafted from wood. 

Toyota said the concept car was created to ‘defy he notion that cars should only be seen as industrial products loaded with the latest technologies’.

The idea behind the vehicle was that over time, our love for things, including our vehicles, can grow. 

Toyota said that during the passage of time, the color and feel of the wood would, of course, change. 

“As the Setsuna is repeatedly passed on from generation to generation, it is transformed into a car that belongs only to that family,” the marque explained. 

“Physical changes to the car embody the changing nature of its bond with its owners, representing memories of time passed together.”

It was crafted using replaceable wooden panels, so when one part wore away, you could simply replace or repair that part. 

Being that they’re made of wood, the old panels would biodegrade over time, leaving nothing behind.

The Mercedes-Benz Biome concept was ‘grown from seeds’

In 2010, Mercedes-Benz attended the Los Angeles Auto Show with its latest concept car: The Biome. 

The Biome took sustainability to the next level. Mercedes explained that the vehicle was grown from two genetically modified seeds – one for the exterior and one for the interior.

The seeds grew a super lightweight ‘BioFibre’, which Mercedes harvested and knitted to make the car. Mind-blowing stuff, right?

Even the vehicle’s wheels had been grown, and the whole thing ran on a neo-fuel dubbed BioNectar4534 rather than normal gas or diesel. 

Much like Setsuna, as the car was made from organic materials, once its life as a car came to an end, it would biodegrade and simply return to the earth. 

There’s actually a couple of plant-made concept cars

In a similar vein to the Biome, students at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands used plants to build their EV Lina in 2017. 

The all-electric was the world’s first bio-composite car made of flax, a natural material that is lightweight, renewable, and recyclable. 

The bio-composite was made using flax and sugar beets, and the finished product is similar to fiberglass, but more sustainable.

“The material we have used to manufacture Lina is more sustainable than what is currently used in urban cars,” said Yasmin Amel Gharib, who helped build the car.

“Energy is saved in the production stage, and Lina’s material can be recycled.”

Interestingly, the car was also street-legal with Yasmin explaining that it had passed ‘Dutch roadworthiness tests’.

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