Wood Supercar

http://www.joeharmondesign.com/index.html

 

What a joke.

 

Should have known somebody was going to do it.

I thought it was going to be Bob Vila .

 

Somebody did that with an F-50, but I think it's already been posted.

 

I can't believe it took 3 replies to mention the wooden F50. ha ha, I thought that would be the first reply!

 

LMAO! I was worried that was what the thread was going to be about!

 

If they can pull it off, I think it would be pretty neat. Read the mission statement.

 

Some of you who are scoffing at this are showing a distinct lack of knowledge of engineering and of history...

The Marcos GT had a laminated plywood chassis (much like what these guys are designing) and had a successful racing history, mostly in England in the sixties. Wood is an excellent engineering material, countless bridges and most likey your house is made mostly of wood. One of the most successful aircraft of World War II was the Mosquito, had an airframe and wings entirely constructed of molded plywood. Also the Lockheed Vega airplane, one of the fastest and highest performing airplanes in the 30's had a wooden fuselage, and most light aircraft until the 1960's had wood wing spars.

Lest you think that this thing is made with timbers, and is heavy, think again. The Marcos cars were successful because of their lightness.... A laminated plywood monocoque if engineered carefully could be a very effective design. Plywood, when laminated in a mold, is extremely strong, light and has a very high stiffness to weight ratio. All of the things that you need in a chassis. Now, wood would not be my first choice of materials for a supercar chassis, there are now even better engineering materials out there, but if you really want to do it, it can be done, and I am sure that with proper engineering care and design, it will work just fine.

 

Whats all this talk of a wood F-50 ? Really !?!?
How do these cars do in crash tests ?
Fire tests ?
How many bales of hay per mile ?
Termites or wood bores ?
Varnish or Polyurethane ?
Pledge or Lemon oil ?
These are the questions that baffle me.

 

Way cool, Jet Fighter's have been using wood composites/paper in their construction for some time now, cool to see it in a car. ^^

 

Very well said!

 

Let some termites get to it and then what?.

 

I think it is a neat idea. Very different. But I am guessing you won't be able to drive this car in the rain?

 

And there was the Spruce Goose.

 

No, you can drive it in the rain, the bottom of the car and any surfaces that can be exposed to water are sealed, just like with a wooden boat. I would expect that they would use a material like fiberglass or epoxy and some thin protective layer of fiberglass cloth. That's what Chevy did with the footwells of the current Corvette, those are balsa wood with fiberglass on both sides. Interior surfaces aren't generally sealed to let the wood "breathe", that is, if any water does get into the wood it can dry out via exposure to the unsealed surfaces. This does take extra care and maintenance, if you gouge the under surface and expose the wood, you have to make sure you reseal it properly or it can rot.

And as far a termites are concerned, the wood can be treated to prevent termites from wanting to eat it.

 

I go to school with Joe and this is by no means a joke. Wood composites can be very strong. Think about what a skate board goes through during the X-Games and how much it would weigh if you made it out of steel or even aluminum. Wood is a suitable structural material. In regards to termites, find someone who is complaining about termites eating through their dash board in their Rolls Royce Phantom. Wood can be processed in such a way that it is immune to termites and water.

The point of this design project and prototype is simply to say what if. There is no intent here to suggest that cars should be made out of wood. We're in North Carolina, which is/was a huge furniture state, so there is a lot of research that goes on involving wood and we spend a lot of time studying and working with wood. Everyone kind of blew Joe off (including my automotive engineering professor) when he started, but he now has some major corporate backing and this car is getting press. Again, the point of this car is simply an experiment designed to answer the question "Can we build a supercar out of wood?" It is not meant to answer "Should we build a supercar out of wood?" You need to understand that difference before you can critique the project. I'm 100% sure that Joe will go on to design cars that you will see out on the road in a few years.

 

I like how its called the Splinter

maybe they should call it the Matchstick bcus I can see it in flames quickly