Splinter wooden supercar in the fles... wood
Click above for high-res gallery of the Splinter Wooden Supercar
You may remember our post on the Splinter wooden supercar late last year. At the time, the grad students behind the project being led by Joe Harmon only had renderings of what the Gaia-approved exotic would look like. They deserve extra credit, however, for having the actual car ready for the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta last week. While they've yet to reach the running prototype stage, they did marry the car's body to its all-wooden chassis. Renderings are one thing, but seeing photos of the actual car is inspiring. The body is comprised of basket-woven wood that's coated with resin in a mold, which we suppose makes it a different kind of carbon fiber altogether. Next up is actually fitting the drivetrain, which thankfully is not made of wood, and getting the Splinter moving under its own power. We may have doubted at the beginning that this project would ever be completed, let alone be this cool, but consider us converts.
Gallery: Splinter Wooden Supercar - the build
Gallery: Splinter Wooden Supercar
[Source: Building the Splinter via Jalopnik]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Trent 4:42PM (8/27/2008)
Goooooooooo State! Amazing Design!
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Shipey 4:43PM (8/27/2008)
The only thing splintering will be your bones when the chassis folds and you eat guard rail.
I applaud the craftsmanship and effort, but there's a reason we abandoned wood-structured chassis in the early part of the last century.
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Shipey 4:48PM (8/27/2008)
Don't get me wrong... I dig it. A lot. I'd just be afraid to go over 5mph in it.
Dude 4:52PM (8/27/2008)
Why would the chassis fold?
If you think about it. The Corvette contains balsa wood, fiberglass, and carbon fiber. This just takes it a step further.
Much much further.
Carlos 6:31PM (8/27/2008)
It would splinter and shatter just like carbon fiber in an accident.
Trent 4:44PM (8/27/2008)
Gooooooooo State! Amazing accomplishment!
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Trent 4:45PM (8/27/2008)
oops, that was wierd.
Kumail891 4:57PM (8/27/2008)
termites would suck.
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Dude 5:16PM (8/27/2008)
Or leaving it parked outside.
david 6:44PM (8/27/2008)
Dude,
Right, like your house, a boat, or many of the other things made of wood.
Ray 5:07PM (8/27/2008)
Don't let Beavis near that car. Fire! Fire!
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Mi key 5:25PM (8/27/2008)
@ Ray
You raise a great point, How do you protect it from heat ? Especially the engine compartment.
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kwsdurango 6:12PM (8/27/2008)
There's nothing like the smell of a nice wood burning fire - except that is, if you're traveling at a high rate of speed and the smell is wafting in from just behind you in the hot engine compartment...
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ultima 6:31PM (8/27/2008)
now that's a woody..
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mdesigner 6:34PM (8/27/2008)
Brilliant.
The design and engineering students of today will be the industry leaders of tomorrow. Innovative and trying new things.
This makes the future seem very promising.
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nardi 7:20PM (8/27/2008)
This is similar in construction to the De Haviland Mosquito, it was also plywood layed up in a mold with resin, it had two much bigger engines than this (RR Merlins) and went much much faster (around 400mph) so the principal is sound, no reason why it shouldn't work just fine, after all some Mossies are still flying.
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adrenalnjunky 9:48PM (8/27/2008)
Am I the only one that got a chuckle out of "Lofty McGee?"
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PauloBecker 12:46PM (8/29/2008)
Unless it's powered by photosynthesis, I'm not impressed. Looks mighty good though.
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Travis 3:47PM (8/29/2008)
Wood is per given weight stronger than steel, when you add that it's resin bonded material like carbon fiber and you can controll heat resistance, not to mention that the material likely becomes even stronger. Also Morgan has been making wooden cars for a while, I doubt that it will have any serious problems. Now Lotus on the other hand could have an issue with their Eco Lotus which is made of Hemp in a similar Resin bonding, I could seem them having issues with people trying to smoke the car a little to litteraly.
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Michael 5:47PM (8/30/2008)
Use Electric, and Support the Frame with Steel Tubing. That should solve everyones problem.
I love the design, except for the big Flat area in the front; I wouldn't have gouged it out. That area will cause more wind resistance and lower the achivable rate of speed.
Good Luck with the rest of the design and getting it to come alive.
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