Wooden supercar is faster than a Porsche

[emad]

The world's first wooden supercar has been unveiled - and it's faster than a Porsche or a Lamborghini.

The Splinter can produce 700bhp from its twin supercharged, 4.6 litre V8 engine - almost 300bhp more than a Porsche 911 GT3. And with a top speed of 240mph, it will leave the Porsche and the new Lamborghini Revanton in its wake.

The two seater, which is made from a combination of maple, plywood and MDF, weighs 1,134kg - 240kg less than the lightweight Porsche.

Joe Harmon, from North Carolina, who is head of the project, said: "Wood has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than aluminium or steel, and it possesses a versatility that makes many types of construction techniques possible. The satisfaction involved in making something from a piece of wood is awesome."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/21/ncar121.xml

[trotsky]

1. Well, uh, I suppose it's not going to rust.

Though they do deserve some nice credit for going with "The Splinter" for its name. :)

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. Think of the Pledge bills :P

n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

3. Well, just think...if it gets a dent, you could sand it down...

of course, if it gets too many dents, there won't be anything left of the car!

[grytpype]

6. It would really suck to pay $350,000 for a supercar and have it eaten by termites.

I would be pissed.

[eppur_se_muova]

17. It was that or "The Woodie". nt

[postulater]

4. I wanna know how they make the engine out of wood

Pine is probably too soft, they'd have to use something more like oak.

:dunce:

[trotsky]

7. Nice.

:thumbsup: :D

[dysfunctional press]

9. ironwood.

http://www.pima.gov/cmo/sdcp/species/iw/illus.html

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. Lignum Vitae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignum_vitae

The hardest, densest wood there is.

[Javaman]

5. The best part is...

when there is no more gas, you can burn it for heat.

[dysfunctional press]

8. nobody alive today will live to see the oil run out.

the internal combustion engine will have been replaced in vehicles long before that happens.

[MadHound]

10. And this crappy idea is going to come to the mass market, and fools will buy it

And then whine and moan when the damn thing falls apart in two years. Rain will warp it, road salt will weaken it, and oil and gas will compromise its integrity. And ooo, a bonus, if you crash and burn, you really, really burn, much more quickly than in a normal car.

Whoever proposed this thing is a fucking idiot. Sure, it looks cool and all, and I'm sure some people with more money than sense will buy the damn thing. But as a practical transportation vehicle, it's crap.

[dysfunctional press]

12. it's probably meant as more of a "collector's item" than anything else.

doubtful that it will ever be mass marketed.

and the people that buy them won't be driving them in the rain and snow, so that's not really a concern.

[WinkyDink]

14. You'd think there were wooden houses or something! Oh, wait.....

[MadHound]

22. Big difference between a house and a car

Houses generally have siding to protect them from the elements, whereas this car only looks like it has some sort of polyurethane finish. Plus the stresses a car is subject to are much greater than those that a house is normally exposed to. There is a very high probability that the life expectancy for this car is very short. There's a reason that cars are made out of metal and high strength plastics, to hold up over the long run.

Yes, I realize that it is a cool car. However I think it is a very impractical car, for the rich and well off, another toy, another waste of material. Frankly I would rather see all that wood still in tree form, or at least going towards something more practical, like a house.

[Book Lover]

21. Dude, it has 700 bhp - it's no ordinary driver

And you may have noticed that the company is, like, one guy in North Carolina. I think GM is safe.

[MadHound]

23. Sorry, but just abhor such a waste.

Yeah, it's got a hot engine, which means that the stresses that wood will have to endure will be all that much greater. Sure, they made some wooden cars a century ago, but that was back when cars traveled at 20mph tops. Once they started going faster than that, the stresses created by such speed quickly showed that wood wasn't a practical material.

This is just another toy for the rich and well off, and a wasteful one at that. I'd rather see that would still back in the ground in tree form.

[Book Lover]

28. I would then remind us all that

wood is a renewable resource - there are trees that grow to maturity in less than a decade. And did you know that Corvettes use balsa wood in their frames still?

I'm not trying to dismiss your concerns, but I do think they are maybe stronger than need be. There may be 15 or so of these cars made and sold, *if* the creator can get the uber-rich to give up big bills for the novelty. The way the high-end car market has been going over the past five or so years, I personally think this guy is 7 years too late.

[librechik]

32. Hmm, if only we could make it out of hemp...

WAIT A MINUTE!!!

[WinkyDink]

13. That is an awesome car!

[DS1]

15. I'd like to see it turn and handle a pothole

what a ridiculous idea.

[Silent3]

16. I want to see a station wagon built like this...

...with inset metal side panels. :)

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. Bwahahaha!

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. But if you get into an accident, won't you be full of splinters?

[TCJ70]

20. I hope no one crashes in one...

...or you run the risk of a record setting splinter.

[northzax]

24. clever gimmick

makes it east to knock on wood when you pass a cop at 240!

[tchunter]

25. this reminds me of a terrible joke...

did you hear about the wooden car? with the wooden doors, and wooden steering wheel and seats? just one problem...


it wooden run

[flvegan]

26. First of all, it's the RevEnton, not Revanton.

If you're going to make a typo, don't do it on a Lambo.

Secondly, a 911 GT3. Big deal. For $70k, I can smoke a 911 GT3 in a Z06 Vette that I can get fixed at my Chevy dealer with a warranty. If I REALLY wanted to get stupid, for an extra $50k ($120k total), I could take that Z06 over to Lingenfelter's shop for a twin turbo workup. Neither the Reventon nor that wooden doorstop above would be able to touch me.

Did I mention I've still got a warranty?

Nice idea, I guess. I like the idea of alternatives, but I don't think this is the one.

[Blue_Tires]

27. i don't get it...

you can build something much lighter out of titanium and carbon fiber for about the same price as this exotic will cost...

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

29. I love Woodies.

:evilgrin:

[Book Lover]

30. Mission statement from Harmon's website as an FYI

"We aren't really all about mission statements around here; too often, they are phoney and superfluous. That said, here is ours. We are building a high-performance, mid-engined supercar from wood composites as a graduate project at North Carolina State University. Wood will be used wherever possible, including the chassis, body, and large percentages of the suspension components and wheels. The car has a target weight of 2500lbs and a power goal of over 600 horsepower. 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 endeavour in which are simply trying to explore materials, learn, teach, share ideas, and stimulate creativity. This section details who we are and what we are doing. We hope you enjoy checking out what we are working on. "

http://www.joeharmondesign.com/process.html

[MilesColtrane]

31. The ultimate in penile compensation for the insecure rich man.

"LOOK AT ME!! I'VE GOT WOOD!!!"