Splinter - A Wooden Supercar?!?!

TheMentat · TheMentat's Garage

This thing is pretty amazing, both the car, and the site that documents it. This guy has been spending years building a supercar almost entirely out of wood, with around 600hp, and around 2500lbs.

http://www.joeharmondesign.com/

The site has some really cool interactive descriptions of the solutions they have come up with.

MT930 · 12-13-2008, 10:26 AM

Nicely done web site! Very interesting and innovative, more suited to boat building.

It's much nicer than this one.

URY914 · URY914's Garage

I saw that Splinter car yesterday at PRI in Orlando. It drew a big crowd. Most walked away shaking their heads.

rouxroux · 12-13-2008, 01:50 PM

Beautiful car BUT there is a joke that is just waiting to write itself here.

HardDrive · 12-13-2008, 03:25 PM

What a profound waste of time and energy.

Dottore · 12-13-2008, 03:37 PM

The answer to the question that no one asked.

gassy · 12-13-2008, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HardDrive

What a profound waste of time and energy.

yeah, I'd rather have the rebar Lambo.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Is it strong enough?

For example, the front suspension looks like a double A-arm design, the A-arms are essentially solid triangles of laminated wood, the dimensions are probably not much larger than a steel A-arm would be (since equally constrained by the wheels and steering geometry). So, can a triangle of laminated wood really be strong enough to be the A-arm of a 600 HP supercar?

Is this basically a low-speed artwork that you'd never actually drive at speed?

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Well how do you make wood strong and light? I want to see an actual picture. Those all look computer rendered.

targa911S · 12-14-2008, 05:44 AM

GOT to weigh a ton.

jhynesrockmtn · 12-14-2008, 08:09 AM

Looks like an amazing project as an educational exercise and way to explore composite materials, new fabrication techniques, etc.

My friend races a wooden chassis car with our vintage club:

Unveiled at the 1963 Earls Court racing car show, the GT (all Marcos cars prior to the Mantis were known purely as the GT, although some picked up nicknames along the way), was a sensation. At 43 inches at the roof, this was one of the lowest cars ever produced and its long bonnet and Kamm tail, although reminiscent of the E-Type and even the Ferrari GTO, were remarkable for their time, especially for a small manufacturer like Marcos (Compare the lines with the Austin Cambridge or Vauxhall Victor of similar vintage!).

Originally, the, once more, wooden chassised car was equipped with a Volvo engine from the P1800 and had a complex De Dion rear suspension and heavily sculpted dashboard.