Photo: Joe Harmon
In an age when cars are starting to catch up with the aerospace industry in terms of materials used, here comes this crazy guy telling us that wood is just as good as your fancy CFRP.
The man’s name is Joe Harmon, and if you’re the lucky owner of a very good memory, you might remember him from back in 2010 when his tree-graveyard of a supercar was looking much less ready to go out into the world.
However, everything that the man promised, he delivered. He stayed true to his belief that wood can substitute more modern materials in building a car, and now he’s got the finished product - a sports car that uses all types of wood where you would’ve previously thought it impossible.
Reading the specifications for this car feels like deciding on the type of hardwood floors for your living room: it’s cherry this, walnut that, and how would you feel about oak?
Contrary to what your first reaction might be, a car made out of wood is also very environmentally friendly. For one thing, you can easily make sure you don’t use more wood than the number of trees you plant, so the balance is kept. Wood is probably the only real renewable material available, and the only reason cutting trees is associated with destroying the planet is because people are doing it wrong.
What’s more, wood is also biodegradable, so there is no residue left from the car’s wooden parts after it has lived its life. But even though most of the suspension, the wheels, the steering mechanism or the car’s chassis is made of wood, some parts had to rely on the good old classic metals.
Parts like the 7.0-liter small-block V8 with aluminum block and heads, or the six-speed manual transmission that will channel all the power from that mid-mounted engine towards the car’s rear wheels.
There are at least two things going through your mind right now. The first is fire safety, as wood has a long tradition of burning inside our chimneys and stoves. You can imagine the wood used was thoroughly treated to be fireproof, and to be honest, being surrounded by plastic during a fire sounds a lot more terrifying.
The second is how much does the Splinter weigh and how does it handle? Unfortunately, despite a pretty impressive spec sheet, weight is not one of the pieces of information provided. As for the handling, the car just came back from the Essen Motor Show where it was displayed, so caution prompted limited driving time for Splinter ahead of the show. But it is driveable, and we’re just as curious as you are about the feeling you get behind that wooden steering wheel. Not so sure about those weaved seats, though.
However, everything that the man promised, he delivered. He stayed true to his belief that wood can substitute more modern materials in building a car, and now he’s got the finished product - a sports car that uses all types of wood where you would’ve previously thought it impossible.
Reading the specifications for this car feels like deciding on the type of hardwood floors for your living room: it’s cherry this, walnut that, and how would you feel about oak?
Contrary to what your first reaction might be, a car made out of wood is also very environmentally friendly. For one thing, you can easily make sure you don’t use more wood than the number of trees you plant, so the balance is kept. Wood is probably the only real renewable material available, and the only reason cutting trees is associated with destroying the planet is because people are doing it wrong.
What’s more, wood is also biodegradable, so there is no residue left from the car’s wooden parts after it has lived its life. But even though most of the suspension, the wheels, the steering mechanism or the car’s chassis is made of wood, some parts had to rely on the good old classic metals.
Parts like the 7.0-liter small-block V8 with aluminum block and heads, or the six-speed manual transmission that will channel all the power from that mid-mounted engine towards the car’s rear wheels.
There are at least two things going through your mind right now. The first is fire safety, as wood has a long tradition of burning inside our chimneys and stoves. You can imagine the wood used was thoroughly treated to be fireproof, and to be honest, being surrounded by plastic during a fire sounds a lot more terrifying.
The second is how much does the Splinter weigh and how does it handle? Unfortunately, despite a pretty impressive spec sheet, weight is not one of the pieces of information provided. As for the handling, the car just came back from the Essen Motor Show where it was displayed, so caution prompted limited driving time for Splinter ahead of the show. But it is driveable, and we’re just as curious as you are about the feeling you get behind that wooden steering wheel. Not so sure about those weaved seats, though.
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