It looks like a steampunk dream collided with a toddler’s Lego bucket. Rolling through the streets of Vietnam, this bizarre vehicle stops traffic not because it’s fast, but because it shouldn’t exist. It is made entirely of wood. Well, mostly. Underneath the veneer of craftsmanship lies a steel frame, an electric drivetrain, and a steering column. But the body? Pure timber.
The creator is Truong Van Dao, a master carpenter who shares his process on YouTube. He didn’t start with blueprints. He started with an AI image generator. He fed the prompt, got a cool design, and then built reality to match the pixels.
Why This Wood Car Is Weirdly Cool
His son calls it a time machine. Maybe that’s because it looks like something from a 1920s alternate future. Or maybe it’s just the sheer absurdity of seeing a full-size car made of planks.
Dao isn’t new to this. He previously built a functional, rideable replica of a Ferrari. And a Bugatti Centodieci. Both used tiny electric motors to move the heavy wood shells. His YouTube channel is basically a gallery of impossible vehicles—supercars, scooters, even trains. But this latest project takes the gimmick up a notch.
The “Time Machine” Car Mechanics Explained
Here is the catch. You can’t really drive it well. The view out of the windshield is obstructed by a jungle of fake mechanical parts. To see the road, you have to look through a small gap in the wooden dashboard chaos. It’s a practical nightmare.
But Dao wanted it to move weirdly. He installed a rack-and-pinion lever system. When he drives, the entire vehicle undulates. It wiggles. It’s not for handling. It’s for the show.
“The effect is guaranteed when the ingenious creator rolls with his son.”
The ride is likely bumpy. The visibility is poor. The steering feels like it’s fighting the wood’s natural stiffness. But that’s the point. This isn’t about getting from A to B. It’s about proving that a carpenter can turn a digital render into a rolling sculpture.
Where to Find More of Dao’s Creations
If you want to see how this madness starts, go to his YouTube channel. Watch him assemble the steel frame. Watch him fit the suspension. Watch him carve the wheels so perfectly they look machined. Then watch him strap in, hit the gas, and watch the car shake its way down the street.
It’s not practical. It’s not efficient. It’s not even particularly safe.
Is it cool? Absolutely.
