What you see before you (if you glance briefly up from this meandering prose) is very real. That is ”Splinter”.
Splinter is a sports car hewn entirely from wood by student Joe Harmon from North Carolina State University (do you think it has a large beer holder installed?). Apparently it should ” when it is completed some time this year ” be capable of speeds in excess of 240mph (390kmph).
”We are building a high-performance, mid-engined supercar from wood composites as a graduate project,” says his website (thinking about it, he should make a wooden computer too).
”Wood will be used where ever possible, including the chassis, body, and large percentages of the suspension components and wheels. The car has a target weight of 2,500lbs and a power goal of more than 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.”
Before you think that this boy is making wood cool again, he gets a bit geeky ” ”The wheels are made from rotary cut oak veneers, each rotated 36 degrees from the previous layer to maximize grain direction alignment with the spokes. A walnut sunburst was cut for...” ” and on he goes.
So remember the name ” ”Harmon,” although if he burns rubber in this, the whole project could be in jeopardy.