The Next Big Thing? Cork May Replace Wood In Luxury Vehicle Interiors

Real wood is one of the hottest interior trim materials for luxury vehicles. It brings beauty, warmth and authenticity to any cabin and drivers and passengers love the way it looks and feels. The downside is the real thing is heavy, raises durability issues and is very costly. Even modest amounts of real wood trim can cost an automaker $1,000 or more per vehicle.

Korean supplier Seoyon says it has the answer: cork. It is soft and natural to the touch, available in a variety of attractive patterns and half the cost of real wood trim. Some of the patterns look like cork, others look like wood. A thin layer of non-woven fabric provides the pattern and a clear-coat top layer provides durability. 

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CarCrazedinCali - 4/17/2018 1:52:05 PM

+1 Boost

great idea!

stiffy - 4/17/2018 4:26:13 PM

+2 Boost

$1000 is nothing when you are already spending many thousands on a car... There might be room for this somewhere in the world however ...

scenicbyway12 - 4/17/2018 5:06:56 PM

+1 Boost

That is pretty cool.

MDarringer - 4/18/2018 8:37:34 AM

+1 Boost

Can I stick push pins into it?

t_bone - 4/18/2018 9:58:20 AM

+3 Boost

Wood wouldn't cost so much to include, if the interior was designed for it instead of it being an afterthought.

qwertyfla1 - 4/18/2018 7:15:49 PM

+2 Boost

I thought cork trees were in real short supply thanks to all the winos (me) and hence the shift to metal caps and synthetic cork?

skytop - 4/26/2018 3:43:30 PM

+1 Boost

Why don't they use 3-D print process that emulates the look and feel of wood. The process is called SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) or SLA (Stereolithography. Guitar makers have been using this process to make gorgous looking and feeling guitars for years.