Splinter Update: Students making progress on wooden supercar
Click above for new high-res renderings of the Splinter Wooden Supercar
The world's greenest supercar project is progressing nicely. The last time we checked in with Joe Harmon and his team of
Work on the project has slowed so Harmon and his colleagues can finish school, but the Splinter continues to garner attention having appeared in a flattering piece published by Automobile Magazine. While we wait for Team Splinter to graduate and finish the car once and for all, take a look at these new high-res renderings of the arts and crafts supercar.
The Splinter is one of those rare projects that's truly inspiring, and Harmon seeks to prove that wood is anything but an outdated material with no place – outside the dashes of expensive luxury cars, of course – in modern automobiles. Point taken.
Gallery: Splinter Wooden Supercar
[Sources: Joe Harmon Design, Automobile Magazine]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Torrent 12:38PM (1/05/2009)
Instead of a detailing/washing, you just get a nice sanding.
Reply
Richard 12:18PM (1/07/2009)
So did they rotate the heads, get custom heads made or what? Trying to figure out what the did so the exhaust exits from the valley.
An easy way would be to get custom camshafts made, but the intake valves and ports are larger than those on the exhaust side and I can only imagine that it would kill power in a major way.
Richard 12:19PM (1/07/2009)
Those headers are gorgeous though.
Richard 12:23PM (1/07/2009)
Okay, found it on their page. They "reversed the flow" of the heads so yeah, custom camshafts and it kills the power. They are trying to make up for it with the superchargers. Still would have made more power with the original setup, but the valley exit exhaust is freaking sweet.
BigMcLargeHuge 12:45PM (1/05/2009)
For those that don't want to burden their loved ones with an expensive funeral, now you can opt to be cremated at the site of the accident.
Reply
xpolarx 12:51PM (1/05/2009)
It's all fun and games until the firewall ignites and the driver literally goes down in a blaze of glory. Of course, as far as epic deaths go, this one ranks right up there with spontaneous combustion and a mid-air collision.
haas 12:46PM (1/05/2009)
i hope its frame is not wood...hate to get hit by anything in that all the splinters
Reply
Rob 12:48PM (1/05/2009)
It's memorable looking, and interesting use of materials, but.. come on. This thing is going to light on fire pretty freakin' easy, and imagine it in a crash. Yikes. There's a reason people use metal and carbon/plastic/kevlar composites.
Reply
Epyx 12:55PM (1/05/2009)
I doubt the intent is to show the plausibility of building out of wood for any practical application. I think this is a much a art project as anything. I bet this ends up in an art museum someplace rather than a race track.
Geekengineer 8:41PM (1/05/2009)
"There's a reason people use metal and carbon/plastic/kevlar composites."
Have you ever gotten a carbon fiber splinter?
I do NOT recommend it. Very sharp. Very painful. Very difficult to remove.
So... yeah, this thing could make for a messy crash... but carbon fiber isn't always the best thing, either.
Just my $.02.
CBR 12:47PM (1/05/2009)
Impressive.
But I believe the tag of "world greenest supercar" is a little out of place, considering the car is made out of wood, as in chopped down trees.
Reply
Epyx 12:52PM (1/05/2009)
...as in trees, a renewable resource.
CBR 1:23PM (1/05/2009)
Renewable yes, but if the forest is clear-cut and no trees are transplanted, the soil can be become unfit for growing. Renewable only if trees are transplanted to replace the cut down ones.
Obviously in this case only a few trees were used, but still.
pmiddle5 1:27PM (1/05/2009)
Generally farmers rotate their crops and have figured out how to take care of their soil pretty well
CBR 1:33PM (1/05/2009)
Thanks Watson, except I'm talking about a forest, not a farmer's field.
mdm-adph 2:06PM (1/05/2009)
...which is like a big field, with really big plants (called trees).
tankd0g 4:15PM (1/05/2009)
Trees are a farmed crop like any other.
Jake 12:49PM (1/05/2009)
The project has been plagued by woodpecker attacks that have kept it behind schedule.
I wonder if instead of the undercoat, you get termite treatment and a coat of polyeurothane.
Reply
Jake 12:55PM (1/05/2009)
They can call it a Firarri or a Lumbergini.
Reply
Bisty 1:28PM (1/05/2009)
I don't think so, Tim.