Although Liu’s second, larger electric car completed by the end of 2014 has the same range as his original wooden EV (20 km or 12.4 miles), consider that bigger means heavier and correspondingly more demand on the batteries.
Even so, Liu’s “Model Tree Two” is more powerful and can reach a top speed of more than 50 kilometers per hour (31 mph) with a favorable tailwind. That may seem rather slow but when you’re riding in a wooden electric car cheek by jowl with the rest of Shenyang’s motorized traffic it can seem frighteningly fast!
What’s next for Liu Fulong, China’s un-matched master of wooden electric cars? Is an organic EV three-peat in the offing? Seeing Liu’s satisfied smile as he cruises Shenyang in the company of an impressed admirer, it would seem the journeyman carpenter just might be ready to put the hammer down and why not? His vehicles have proved to be powerful babe magnets notwithstanding their wooden construction. (all images via THAT’S, China Daily, and Shanghaiist)


