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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 woodsmen craftsmen from North Carolina State University, the all-wooden car's hand-laid bodywork had been mated with the chassis, which was awaiting installation of the twin-supercharged, 32-valve Cadillac-sourced V8 engine and six-speed rear-mounted transaxle from a modern Chevrolet Corvette. Those 600 ponies will be funneled to the rear wheels, which have center hubs made from pressed and laminated wood, naturally. Even the transverse leaf springs are made from orange osage wood.

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Splinter is one of those rare projects that's truly inspiring, and Harmon seeks to prove that wood is anything but an outdated material with no place - outside the dashes of expensive luxury cars, of course - in modern automobiles.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]

Splinter Update: Students making progress on wooden supercar originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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]

Splinter wooden supercar in the fles... wood originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>joe harmonJoeHarmonsplintersplinter wooden supercarSplinterWoodenSupercarwooden supercarWoodenSupercarWed, 27 Aug 2008 16:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1297087/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/08/27/splinter-wooden-supercar-in-the-fles-wood/1297087/article-detail.xml 1297087 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/000_splintera_opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/000_splintera_opt.jpg <![CDATA[Grad students create Splinter, the wooden supercar]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/17/grad-students-create-splinter-the-wooden-supercar/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/17/grad-students-create-splinter-the-wooden-supercar/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/17/grad-students-create-splinter-the-wooden-supercar/#commentsFiled under: ,


click above image for more renderings of the Splinter supercar

We're not sure what sort of beneficial impact one would get from making a supercar out of wood composites, but if there is one, the students behind the Splinter supercar will find out. The Splinter will be a 600-hp, 2,500-pound goer with wood used for the chassis, body, and parts of the suspension and wheels.

The car is powered by a twin-supercharged Northstar V8. To keep all that heat from doing bad things to the wood, the exhaust exits from the top of the block and out through mufflers in the wing -- which, as you might guess, makes the non-wooden wing quite hot. Other oddities innovations include Osage Orange leaf springs, and seating that puts passengers' legs between the upper and lower A-arms of the suspension. And those multi-colored spokes you see on the wheel? Yep, made of wood.

The Splinter is a graduate project for some students at NC State. They say "we aren't trying to sell anything, we aren't trying to save the world, and we aren't advocating that everyone should drive a wooden car. This project is a scholastic endeavor in which we are simply trying to explore materials, learn, share ideas, and stimulate creativity." We support that no matter what you make your supercar out of. But for the chance to do 190 MPH in what is essentially a motorized tree, hey, sign us up.

[Source: Joe Harmon Design via Winding Road]

Gallery: Splinter Wooden Supercar

Grad students create Splinter, the wooden supercar originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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click image for photo gallery

While it's certainly true that the cost of raw materials like steel and aluminum is going up, we hope automakers never follow the lead of this Japanese furniture company and start building cars out of wood. Liberally billed as a "wooden supercar", the organic auto is really more a three-wheeled motorcycle or trike. It's a three-seater with the driver front and center controlling the vehicle using a set of handlebars, while a bench seat, or pew for two, is elevated in the rear. We think it's modeled after a pedal taxi, which are about as unrelated to any supercars we know as you can get. It's top speed of 50 mph is also a couple hundred short of the hottest supercar contender, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT that's being readied for another run at the "World's Fastest Production Car" crown. If you have $32,000 handy, you might be able to coax the builder into throwing in one of these with your order for a new coffee and matching end table set, though.

Check out the gallery for more pics and videos of the "wooden supercar" can be found after the jump.

[Source: Japanprobe, Dannychoo via Engadget]

Gallery: Japanese "wooden supercar"

Continue reading Japanese furniture company creates "wooden supercar"

Japanese furniture company creates "wooden supercar" originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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