Splinter supercar gets its wooden debut
Click above for high-res gallery of the Splinter Wooden Supercar
When we first reported on the Splinter, we thought that the students at North Carolina State University had no intentions of building the unique wooden supercar. Apparently, we were wrong. As much of the interior and exterior of the car as possible is made from good ole' fashioned wood, including the frame, wheels and little pieces such as the steering wheel. Specifically, the body shell is a composite, like fiberglass or carbon fiber. Much of the external skin, while still wood, is actually a weave and is coated in an epoxy. While it should prove to be plenty strong, we don't imagine that building a car with this particular process results in a car which is all that light. Still, nobody is going to argue that this car isn't renewable.
There is at least one part of the car that's not made from wood: the drivetrain. A twin-supercharged Northstar V8 engine will power the car and a 6-speed tranny will send the power to the rear wheels - suspended of course on transverse leaf springs made from laminated wood.
For some cool pictures of the process, check out Autoblog's gallery: Splinter Wooden Supercar - the build
[Source: Building the Splinter via Jalopnik via Autoblog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gabe 1:32PM (8/28/2008)
They made the springs out of leafs?
I kid I kid.
Reply
Turbofrog 1:36PM (8/28/2008)
Maybe I just like sucking the fun out of things, but I don't really understand the devotion of this much effort to a project simply "because we can." Using wood is a ridiculous compromise in nearly all of its applications on this project.
If you're trying to make an ecologically friendly supercar, that's cool. If you're trying to make an unconventional art piece of a supercar, that's also cool. Just don't try and pretend that they are one and the same.
Reply
Richard 3:45PM (8/28/2008)
This project is by woodworking students and the whole point is to showcase just how far you can stretch the limits of what you can do with wood. As an engineer and amateur woodworker i'm quite impressed by what i've seen so far.
stevefazek 7:08PM (8/28/2008)
The British built on of the fastest and best planes of WW2 out of wood.
Reply
earl991 11:49AM (8/29/2008)
Please delete the cigarette lighter option.
Reply