drive
The Lexus SUV with sub-zero cool
Lexus on Ice, the NX Ice Wheel. – AFP pic, December 22, 2015.For many drivers, a car's wheels are its coolest feature, but the unique rims on this Lexus NX take things to another level.
Instead of being cast or milled from exotic aluminum and magnesium compounds, these fully functional wheels have been sculpted from ice.
Created by London-based Hamilton Ice Sculptors, the wheels required three months' research, development and testing and each rim took four sculptors 36 hours to produce, even the tire tread has been faithful recreated to within a millimeter of detail.
Flashing LED lights were cast inside each ice wheel and to make absolutely certain that they could take the weight of the SUV when it hit the road, acrylic insets were added for strength.
Richard Balshaw, Lexus Director, said: "Projects such as our hoverboard, the origami-inspired cardboard car and now a dazzling set of fully functioning ice wheels, demonstrate how we use advanced technologies and the best craftsmanship traditions to achieve outstanding results. That's not just for eye-catching one-off projects, but for the cars we deliver to our customers, too."
And although they roll just as well as normal alloy wheels, Lexus needed to put the car and its wheels in the deep freeze at a temperature of -30° for five whole days before it was able to hit the street on a test drive. That could hinder day-to-day usability. – AFP, December 22, 2015.
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