The world's first wooden supercar is faster than a Porsche or a Lamborghini

Daily Mail ^ | 02/20/08

[Eye of Unk]

I think its been done before

[RepublitarianRoger2]

So when you wax your car, you get out the Pledge?

[Still Thinking]

Don’t talk that way about Helen Thomas.

[I see my hands]

Man, I can see driving that in the morning!

[NVDave]

Shades of the Mosquito, the “Wooden Wonder.”

[ME-262]

"Wood is a truly amazing material to work with. "It has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than aluminium or steel...

The strength to weight ratios for the mentioned Maple, Plywood, and MDF are all lower in compression, tensile, and shear strength, than that of the cheap grades of aluminum or steel. What a load of Bull-crap. When is the last time you saw a baseball player bust an aluminum bat over his knee?

Wood also splinters into sharp spears that impale people in crashes. Trust me there are a million reasons why we stopped making vehicles out of wood. It swells when wet. It splits when dry. It burns. It grows and shrinks a lot with temperature. It rots. Bugs Eat it. The neighbors dog could chew your car all up. the sun degrades it. It has a grain to it and is much weaker in some directions than others. It does not have uniform properties from tree to tree or branch to branch as it was a unique living thing subject to disease and environmental conditions during its growth. The type of wood composite construction shown is very labor intensive. I could go on forever.

That big engine sitting behind the driver will go up his ace if that thing crashes.

I'm glad this deathtrap looks a long way from the testing phase still.

[elephantlips]

If the car is a “Woodie,” are the tires a “Buzz Goodyear?”

[rolling_stone]

Shades of Morgan vehicles made with Belgium Ash...

[ME-262]

Why does designer Joe Harmon’s shop look like his living room with the carpet pulled up? Does the cheap box fan imply he doesn’t have air-conditioning in his house or is that his OSHA approved glue room ventilation extraction system. Is it just me or does it look like this is a low budget operation that could get someone killed?

[B-Chan]

It’s hard to find auto insurance that covers damage caused by termites.

If I ever buy a wooden car, it will be the wooden car I’ve wanted since I was a kid — a Stutz Bearcat.

[incredulous joe]

Might want to rethink that name.

I understand that the proto-type name for the Ford Pinto was “The Banshee”.

Remeber that little problem that they had with the gas tanks that exploded upon rear impact crashes??

[Sherman Logan]

It grows and shrinks a lot with temperature.

Wood is affected a good deal more by humidity than temperature. This baby would not be a good idea to take back and forth from AZ to FL.

[ME-262]

Leave the MDF for cheap rent-to-own furniture. How did I know this guy was a 27 year old form the Carolinas?

[LibertyRocks]

My first thoughts as well.... Sure it goes fast, but what happens when you stop all of a sudden — and not because you’re hitting the brakes! O.O

[ME-262]

It claims to go 240 MPH but it sure looks like it is nailed down in the guys living room. I'll bet the box fan is to blow his hair back while he pretends to drive it.

Q: What kind of a nut plops an unfinished engine into an unfinished prototype?

A: The kind that only has unfinished renderings and is making up the design details as he goes.

I guess I can glue this block of wood here for a 700HP engine mount and file it to fit, then I'll slap a little fiberglass on it just to be sure it is really strong. And I'll drill a hole through a hockey puck to bolt in between and absorb all the vibration. I'd better put a little aluminum foil on there for a firewall. Damn! I bet I can make my electrical system out of these old Christmas lights, and form my Plexiglas windshield with my girlfriends curling iron. Woohooo!

[Harpo Speaks]

On the downside, it takes 22 cans of Pledge to polish it after every trip to the car wash.

[RedQuill]

Actually, wood is a fine composite material. The 787 is largely composite. Why not the car? I like it. Also, check out the GP-4 aircraft. Or, Mr. ME-262, the English Mosquito :0)

[TrueKnightGalahad]

A power-to-weight ratio of 3.5 lbs/hp? Me wantee!

[ME-262]

It seems as if Joe has chosen to use a really short unstable wheelbase for his 240 MPH Super-car so that He can assemble it atop of his waterbed frame. I hate to see this tool get his dreams canceled when his girlfriend or landlord kicks him out of their house. I just hope he’s not taking anybody else’s money or time to build this monument to his foolishness. He could use the engine money to attend a junior college and take an engineering course or two or hire an engineering firm to explain to him why what he claims will only exist in his imagination. Joe doesn’t get the concept of strength to weight ratio if he’s using MDF(Medium Density Fiberboard) as a composite core material. MDF is weak and heavy compared to a structural foam or some other core material like balsa. I believe there is a warning printed right on the retail MDF sheets that they are not approved for structural applications. Joe might also bear in mind that even the smallest amount of water landing on his MDF will swell it up like a sponge. We use a ton of the stuff as spoil-board for the vacuum table on our CNC Table router. Also a little impact and the stuff crumbles into sawdust. It does not absorb much energy before it disintegrates.

[jeddavis]

The future is carbon fiber and not wood.