PETER: I wanted to do something absolutely unique.
PETER: I had a vision for a certain form of a car.
PETER: For me it was always a big happiness
to design, and I like to mix the modern line with the retro classical lines.
COMM: Julia is a one-off wooden concept car
built by carpenter Peter Szabo, a Hungarian who now lives in Romania.
COMM: He got the idea around three and a half
years ago while finishing another project.
PETER: I was building a wooden carriage, horse
carriage and then when I was finishing and I said I would like to try out to build a
car, wooden car. I wanted to do something which doesn’t exist around the world.
PETER: You can’t find hardwood concept car,
very good quality, it is almost impossible to find all around the world.
COMM: Peter’s original design drawings took
him a couple of days. And then he spent a month making a 1:10 scale maquette.
PETER: I was working with one of my friend
Matyus Csaba. He was the leader of the technical and the electronic work and mechanical work,
and after one year I had to make a bigger atelier workshop because my workshop was not
enough. So after couple of months I started to build the car, the carrossery, the body
of the car on ash wood.
COMM: The whole process took three years and eight months.
PETER: It costed €18,000 for me and 4,500
hours. But also a happy time because I was crazy to work with and it was a big happiness
for me to build it up.
COMM: Julia has the axels and gear box from
a 1983 Ford Taunus. The car that also provided her with her 110 horsepower V6 engine.
PETER: It is not important to have big speed
with. Until now I have travelled only here in the village, it was 80-90 km/hour but I
think in a highway it could go faster.
COMM: Peter has combined traditional carpentry
with modern technology.
PETER: With that tablet you are touching the
screen, the lamps, the GPS and the music.
COMM: The car was shown off to great acclaim
at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015.
PETER: Every positive reaction of people makes
me happy. Here in Romania lot of people are working with their hands. They know to build
up something with your own hands, it’s rather difficult and they appreciate it. I am happy
when I see their face and their reaction about it.
COMM: Given the amount of time Peter spent
on the car, thankfully his family approve.
PETER: My wife and my children, they are proud
of this car and of their father.
COMM: And he is already thinking about his next project.
PETER: I have already in my mind a futuristical
design for a car also out of wood but with electric engine.