Wooden supercar: The vehicle is faster than a Porsche
Posted on 02/25/2008 10:21:59 PM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Last updated at 12:01pm on 20th February 2008
The world's first wooden supercar has been unveiled - and it's faster than a Porsche or a Lamborghini.
The 'Splinter' car can turn out a whopping 700bhp from its twin supercharged, 4.6litre V8 engine - almost 300bhp more than a Porsche 911.
And with a top speed of a staggering 240mph, it will leave the Porsche or even the brand new Lamborghini Revanton trailing in its wake.
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Wooden supercar: The vehicle is faster than a Porsche
The entire car, which is made from a combination of maple, plywood and MDF, weighs just 1,134kg - some 240kg less than the super lightweight Porsche.
The eco-friendly two seater, which is fitted with a six-speed, manual gearbox, can sprint from 0 to 60mph in just over three seconds.
But despite its awesome power, designers say the stylish petrol driven car will still be able to do up to 20mpg.
Designer Joe Harmon, who is head of the project, said: "Wood is a truly amazing material to work with.
"It has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than aluminium or steel, and it possesses a versatility that makes many different types of construction techniques possible.
"The look, feel, and smell of a natural material like wood is not seen elsewhere and cannot be faked, and the satisfaction involved in making something from a piece of wood is awesome.
"This is a supercar designed to push boundaries and prove the potential of wood as a material."
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Carefully carved: The car is made completely out of wood
The 15ft-long car has a laminated wood veneer chassis and wooden wheel rims inside giant 20 inch diameter tyres.
Suspension is provided through laminated wooden arms and springs made from orange wood.
Joe, from North Carolina, US, added: "The light weight is achieved through careful design and composite construction.
"The Splinter is not made from any carved-out, solid chunks of wood, but rather moulded laminates."
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Under the bonnet: The wooden car can reach a top speed of 240mph
The car is due to hit the road later this year. The design company, Joe Harmon Design, has not yet decided on a price for the supercar.
And according to 27-year-old Joe, it might not be long before Formula One star Lewis Hamilton is behind the wheel of a wooden car.
He said: "An F1 car could definitely be made from wood.
"Some extremely creative engineering would have to go into it to overcome the strength-to-weight and mouldability benefits of carbon fibre, but it's definitely possible.
"Getting permission to race it would probably be a bigger challenge than engineering it. But it would be fun to try."
Drivers are kept safe by a roll cage which also stiffens the chassis and defines the rear profile of the car.
I think its been done before
So when you wax your car, you get out the Pledge?
Don’t talk that way about Helen Thomas.
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Shades of the Mosquito, the “Wooden Wonder.”
The strength to weight ratios for the mentioned Maple, Plywood, and MDF are all lower in compression, tensile, and shear strength, than that of the cheap grades of aluminum or steel. What a load of Bull-crap. When is the last time you saw a baseball player bust an aluminum bat over his knee?
Wood also splinters into sharp spears that impale people in crashes. Trust me there are a million reasons why we stopped making vehicles out of wood. It swells when wet. It splits when dry. It burns. It grows and shrinks a lot with temperature. It rots. Bugs Eat it. The neighbors dog could chew your car all up. the sun degrades it. It has a grain to it and is much weaker in some directions than others. It does not have uniform properties from tree to tree or branch to branch as it was a unique living thing subject to disease and environmental conditions during its growth. The type of wood composite construction shown is very labor intensive. I could go on forever.
That big engine sitting behind the driver will go up his ace if that thing crashes.
I'm glad this deathtrap looks a long way from the testing phase still.
If the car is a “Woodie,” are the tires a “Buzz Goodyear?”
Shades of Morgan vehicles made with Belgium Ash...
It’s hard to find auto insurance that covers damage caused by termites.
If I ever buy a wooden car, it will be the wooden car I’ve wanted since I was a kid — a Stutz Bearcat.
Might want to rethink that name.
I understand that the proto-type name for the Ford Pinto was “The Banshee”.
Remeber that little problem that they had with the gas tanks that exploded upon rear impact crashes??
Wood is affected a good deal more by humidity than temperature. This baby would not be a good idea to take back and forth from AZ to FL.
My first thoughts as well.... Sure it goes fast, but what happens when you stop all of a sudden — and not because you’re hitting the brakes! O.O
Q: What kind of a nut plops an unfinished engine into an unfinished prototype?
A: The kind that only has unfinished renderings and is making up the design details as he goes.
I guess I can glue this block of wood here for a 700HP engine mount and file it to fit, then I'll slap a little fiberglass on it just to be sure it is really strong. And I'll drill a hole through a hockey puck to bolt in between and absorb all the vibration. I'd better put a little aluminum foil on there for a firewall. Damn! I bet I can make my electrical system out of these old Christmas lights, and form my Plexiglas windshield with my girlfriends curling iron. Woohooo!
On the downside, it takes 22 cans of Pledge to polish it after every trip to the car wash.
Actually, wood is a fine composite material. The 787 is largely composite. Why not the car? I like it. Also, check out the GP-4 aircraft. Or, Mr. ME-262, the English Mosquito :0)
A power-to-weight ratio of 3.5 lbs/hp? Me wantee!
The future is carbon fiber and not wood.
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