Designer Builds World's First Wooden Supercar, Spends 20,000 Hours

Just think about the fire hazard.
Utku Kucukduner

It's quite curious how people can be passionate about the most unseeming and impossible things. Such is the case with Joe Harmon, a designer and builder from North Carolina, who spent 9 years of his life building a wooden supercar, putting in roughly 20000 hours into the process. Harmon tells that he had been inspired by a WWII airplane called Havilland Mosquito, nicknamed "Wooden Wonder." 

SEE ALSO: THE MUSKET: A HAND CRAFTED 1000CC ALUMINUM BEAST

The car, conveniently named "Splinter", is estimated to be 90% wood. It was first devised as a graduate project for school and boy, how it really took off. Joe says "wood is our only naturally renewable building material, it is biodegradable and takes a small amount of energy to produce." He also notes that wood actually has a better weight to strength ratio than steel and aluminum. The car holds 650 HP under its hood.

Joe reports that the vehicle is hot, clunky, and uncomfortable. You can't really see what's behind you, actually, you can't even see what's in front of you properly. The car contains about 20 different types of wood; walnut, cherry, maple, birch, ash, walnut, you name it, it's probably in there somewhere. Joe also notes that he had family and friends all pitching in with their effort in the process and is really thankful for that.

Watch the video to learn more about how he got through the process.

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