Two-hundred-and-forty mph is the projected top speed, but that’s not really the point. The point is the designer and engineer, Joe Harmon, is using wood in every area possible to build this car, which he calls, the Splinter. He’ll be using a twin-supercharged Northstar V8 to push the 2500lb. car, so if it’s got a small frontal area and proper gearing, 200-plus shouldn’t be a problem. On his site and blog, Harmon states he’s using wood in ways similar to carbon fiber (weaving) and that wood has a strength-to-weight integrity that’s better than steel or aluminum. He also addresses heat and other issues in his FAQ section.
Sources: thanks to Michael H. for the tip!, woodmagazine, joeharmondesign
Image: joeharmondesign
“…a greater percentage of the Splinter would be consumed in a fire than of an ordinary vehicle.”
I guess no more Splinter is greater.
For some odd reason, whenever I hear of someone building a wooden car, I get the urge to dredge up this link: http://home.clara.net/peterfrost/tryaneii.html
Using wood with a suitable adhesive and the correct structural geometry should work well - a lot of aircraft are made from plywood and glue and withstand the stresses of flight just fine.
I’d be a lot less concerned if he was using a wooden body with a metal chassis. The ideal piece of wood has a tremendous strength to weight ratio, but as a luthier [and an ASE certified mechanic] i know firsthand that regardless of the number of laminations and the hypothetical integrity of the workpiece, sometimes you find the breaking point a lot sooner than you’d expect.
I’d mold a car outta finger jello to make a statement, but it would not be a step forward for the industry. Back to the drawing board woodman.
I just thought it was interesting. I’d certainly have no problem driving it, though maybe I wouldn’t push it past 180.
Not that I’m impressed a lot, but this is a lot more than I expected when I found a link on Digg telling that the info is quite decent. Thanks.