Hyundai recently released the new Tucson SUV to much praise but that’s not all the team at the Hyundai Europe Design Centre have been working on. They’ve also spent time recently developing a soapbox racer that can be built at home from scratch, using affordable materials easily found at a hardware store.

Developed as a project to encourage families and friends to spend more time together, the Hyundai Soapbox is inspired by the Hyundai 45 concept car and went through a design process similar to any regular car, with designers sketching ideas and engineers working on the chassis. While the team had originally planned to stay true to the double-curved surfaces of the 45 concept car, they soon realised this would prove too difficult for people to recreate, resulting in the simplified design we see here.

One of the great things about the Hyundai soapbox racer is the basic materials and parts required. While plenty of cutting and assembly is involved – as can be expected of any DIY project – the soapbox is made out of wood, metal rods, and connecting materials such as brackets and screws that can be sourced easily. Existing materials that might already be present around the home can also be used. The wheels, for example, are from a wheelbarrow and the controls are made using screwdrivers for simple steering — even the mechanism for braking is relatively simple. 

The video below shows how to build the Hyundai soapbox, while all the plans and building manual can be downloaded from the zip file here.