Lexus’ Kinetic Seats Concept Becoming Closer to Reality

Synthetic Spider Silk May Be ‘Humankind’s Most Important New Material’

Spider silk: If there’s a cooler-sounding material used in car manufacturing, we’ve not heard of it.

But spider silk doesn’t just sound super, in the Spider-Man sense of the word, it is super. So super, in fact, that Lexus is touting it as possibly “humankind’s most important new material.”

If you’ll recall, spider silk is one of the futuristic materials used in Lexus’ wild Kinetic Seat Concept, unveiled at last year’s Paris Motor Show. The seat is designed to adhere to the driver, creating the most ergonomically-correct driver position ever imagined.

We’re not talking about real spider silk, mind you, but rather the synthetic kind, which is miraculous in its own right. Of course, you can understand why scientists would want to replicate a material based on spider-silk protein. It’s incredibly strong, tough, flexible and shock absorbent.

To weave such a material into the concept seats, Lexus worked with Spiber, a biotech start-up that has placed big bets on synthesizing spider silk. To do so, they’ve figured out how to genetically engineer the thread “using a mix of molecular design, gene synthesizing, fermentation, spinning, and prototyping.” And there’s no environmental impact, unlike nylon and polyester, which are derived from petroleum.

Spiber thinks their spider silk can revolutionize the auto industry. And they’re not just talking about really-comfy car seats either. They’ve actually got their eyes on adding the fiber to plastic, which could supplant traditional metal parts.

And the synthetic’s application goes well-beyond the auto industry, too. Spiber’s also targeting the apparel industry. They’re currently working on an outdoor spider silk jacket called the Moon Parka, while partnering with The North Face’s Japanese and South Korean distributor.

At this point, there’s no word on when Lexus will use spider silk in anything but a concept seat. But our Spidey-senses should alert us when they do, so stay tuned.