Splinter Becomes First Wooden Supercar
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
We’ve seen many supercars and concept designs of supercars to come – but never before have we seen one that was built entirely out of wood. The Splinter concept was designed by a group of graduate students who wanted to see what it would be like to have a vehicle that was made out of wood.
It’s not just Splinter’s exterior that’s been given the varnished treatment. There are wooden components in the suspension and chassis; all this built around a 600-hp V8 engine. Of course weight is a huge issue since the team has had to construct wooden wheels to support a 2,500 lb body, and they’ve used layers of oak veneer to do so. The inflammable nature of the material is another, which the team has countered by moving the exhaust so that it vents over the top of the engine and shifting the muffler into the rear wing.
Inside the car the passengers’ legs go between the arms of the suspension, which sounds kinda dangerous, but clearly the team has thought long and hard about it. They want project Splinter to “explore materials, learn, share ideas and stimulate creativity.” I think we can all agree that we would love to get behind the wheel and see for ourselves how well it well it would drive and how fast it will go.
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