Grad Student Building Wooden Car

by David Hunt

When graduate student Joe Harmon decided to design and build a concept car for his graduate project in industrial design, he opted to follow the supercar formula – creating a high-performance sports car that could compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti.

To make the project even more challenging, Harmon is crafting the supercharged two-seater almost entirely out of wood.

"I want to show that you can make something really fast and really strong out of wood and that wood isn't an old and antiquated low-technology material," Harmon says. "Wood has its pros and cons, just like every other material does." 

Harmon is building the car from thin sheets of wood veneer.

The car – dubbed "the Splinter" – will make its debut at the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta on Aug. 20. Until then, Harmon and a team of friends, neighbors and students are working in a garage behind Harmon's Durham home, building the car from the ground up.

Although he's heard from a few skeptics, Harmon insists the project is doable, if not practical.

"Practicality is a minor deal," he says. "I don't know how many 700-horsepower supercars are practical. It's about style and performance and this car will have all that in spades. This car will not be a grocery getter."

If you did drive the Splinter to the grocery store, you'd have to shop light. The car won't have a trunk. But it will have many of the features you'd expect in a high-performance sports car, including a modified Cadillac Northstar 4.6 liter V-8 engine, twin superchargers, rack-and-pinion steering, anti-roll bar, and rear-wheel drive.

At 2,500 lbs., the car is about the same weight as a Mini-Cooper – but a lot faster. Harmon estimates it will be capable of hitting between 220 and 240 miles per hour. But he isn't just concerned with raw power.

"Top speed isn't something you should set a goal for; it's a byproduct," he says. "I don't want to sacrifice any drivability to try to get it to a magical top speed. I just want it to drive well and fast on a road course."

He's also concerned with styling. If you imagine the Splinter as a canoe with wheels and superchargers, you're way off the mark. The wood used to make the car is composite material that is molded into various forms with a vacuum – much like carbon fiber – not carved or sculpted.

This process allows Harmon to combine sheets of paper-thin wood veneer to create the body panels and other parts to exact specifications. High-quality woods, like cherry and ash, will be used for the polished top layer; low-cost woods will be used underneath.

Harmon is planning to debut the car in August at the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta.

"The whole side of the car is one mold," Harmon says. "We'll likely lay that up as one piece of wood and cut the door out of that and match the grain going down the side."

Other parts aren't so easy to make. The suspension system, for example, presented a challenge at first, and the team almost opted to use metal.

"We talked about it and decided that a leaf spring was nothing more than a bigger, stiffer version of a longbow, so we researched bow making and came upon a wood called Osage orange," Harmon says. "It's the strongest wood found in North America, and it has properties that make it excellent for use in longbows."

Harmon is proud of the many innovations he and his team developed in designing the car. In addition to the novel suspension system, they developed a unique muffler and exhaust system to vent super-heated air out of the top of the car, and an innovative seating design to make room for the engine behind the driver, in the middle of the car.

Harmon's graduate school advisor, associate professor Bong Il Jin, developed production and concept cars at Kia Motor Company and was chief designer at Daewoo Motors before joining the faculty at NC State in 2000. Harmon decided to enroll as an undergraduate at NC State after touring the campus and meeting Jin.

"He had just come to NC State, and I thought he would be the perfect guy to learn from," Harmon says. "When I told him I wanted to make a car out of wood, he thought I was crazy. He laughed about it, but he also believed in me."

Harmon maintains a Web site with photos, sketches, and information about the project as well as a weblog with daily entries about his progress during construction.

After he graduates in May, Harmon hopes his master's degree in industrial design, combined with the skills he's developed over hundreds of hours working on his graduate project, will translate into a successful career in automotive design.

As for the car itself, Harmon may eventually put the Splinter on the auction block.

"It started out as totally a scholastic endeavor. We wanted to learn as much as we could and have some fun at the same time. It's not against my principles to sell the car," he says. "Plus, it would be nice to pay my dad back some of the money he's invested in me." 

Links:

• College of Design

• Joe Harmon Design