Style

Lexus NX drives on 'ice wheels'

By Kevin Lui, for CNN
Updated 0721 GMT (1521 HKT) December 23, 2015
(CNN)When it comes to driving on ice, the Japanese carmaker Lexus seems to have thrown
caution to the wind. Its new one-off model literally drives on frozen water.
The company has fitted one of its NX compact crossovers with a working set of wheels and
tires made from ice.
The tires were created in London by a team of four ice sculpting experts from Hamilton Ice
Sculptors, a 35-year-old business which specializes in creating large-scale ice and snow
installations.
"Being a sculptor, it's about having a good silhouette, bold detail," explained Jack Hackney,
one of the sculptors who worked on the project, in a behind-the-scenes video released by
Lexus.
"Which is why these wheels are brilliant, because the shape of the rim on the car is a very
strong, bold and geometric shape, so it really comes out in ice."
Based on a laser scan of the NX's real car parts, the sculptors replicated tires and wheels. It
captured even the smallest of details, such as the tires' tread patterns. Each ice wheel took 36
hours to make.
The car itself was stored at -30C for five days before it was taken out of a chilled garage and
driven, rather gingerly, in a controlled space.
In-wheel LED lighting adds an extra glowing dimension to the crystal clear wheels, the
clarity of which was achieved by sculpting them using ice frozen from softened, moving
water.
Acrylic parts were inserted into the wheels to make sure the ice could actually hold the
weight of the car, which weighs nearly 2 tons.
Lexus says that the feat took three months of research, design and testing to achieve.
Watch: This is how you hand-make a Rolls-Royceil
This isn't the first time the carmaker has pulled a visually-stunning marketing stunt.
Back in October, Lexus exhibited a life-size 'origami' version of one of its sedans in the UK.
Built from 1,700 laser-cut cardboard sheets of cardboard, it was fitted with an electric motor
and could also be driven around.

And earlier in the year, Lexus unveiled a real-life hoverboard that could levitate, similar to
the one featured in the 1989 "Back to the Future" sequel.
Read: Japan's affordable rival to the Tesla Model S?

Lexus NX drive di 'es roda'

Oleh Kevin Lui, untuk CNN
Updated 0721 GMT (1521 HKT) 23 Desember 2015
(CNN) Ketika datang ke mengemudi di atas es, produsen mobil Jepang Lexus tampaknya
telah dilemparkan hati-hati untuk angin. Baru modelnya satu-off harfiah drive di atas air
beku.
Perusahaan telah dipasang salah satu NX crossover kompak dengan satu set kerja roda dan
ban yang terbuat dari es.
Ban diciptakan di London oleh tim empat ahli es mematung dari Hamilton Ice Pematung,
bisnis 35 tahun yang mengkhususkan diri dalam menciptakan skala besar es dan salju
instalasi.
"Menjadi seorang pematung, itu tentang memiliki siluet yang baik, rinci berani," jelas Jack
Hackney, salah satu pematung yang bekerja pada proyek, dalam sebuah video behind-thescenes dirilis oleh Lexus.
"Itulah sebabnya roda ini brilian, karena bentuk pelek pada mobil adalah bentuk yang sangat
kuat, berani dan geometris, sehingga benar-benar keluar dalam es."
Berdasarkan scan laser bagian mobil nyata X, pematung direplikasi ban dan roda. Ini
ditangkap bahkan terkecil rincian, seperti pola tapak ban '. Setiap roda es mengambil 36 jam
untuk membuat.
Mobil itu sendiri disimpan pada -30 C selama lima hari sebelum itu diambil dari sebuah
garasi dingin dan didorong, bukan hati-hati, di ruang dikendalikan.
Di roda pencahayaan LED menambah dimensi ekstra bersinar ke roda jernih, kejelasan yang
dicapai dengan patung mereka menggunakan es beku dari melunak, air bergerak.
Bagian akrilik dimasukkan ke roda untuk memastikan es benar-benar bisa menahan berat
mobil, yang beratnya hampir 2 ton.
Lexus mengatakan bahwa prestasi mengambil tiga bulan penelitian, desain dan pengujian
untuk mencapai.
Perhatikan: Ini adalah bagaimana Anda tangan-membuat Rolls-Royce
Ini bukan pertama kalinya produsen mobil telah ditarik aksi pemasaran visual-menakjubkan.
Kembali pada bulan Oktober, Lexus dipamerkan seukuran versi 'origami' dari salah satu
sedan di Inggris. Dibangun dari 1.700 lembar karton laser memotong kardus, itu dilengkapi
dengan motor listrik dan bisa juga didorong sekitar.
Dan awal tahun, Lexus meluncurkan hoverboard kehidupan nyata yang bisa melayang, mirip
dengan yang ditampilkan dalam 1989 "Kembali ke Masa Depan" sekuel.
Baca: saingan terjangkau Jepang untuk Tesla Model S?