The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Splinter was a wood-intensive supercar project designed by Joe Harmon, but the often-repeated 240-mph figure was a theoretical estimate—not a verified speed. The car used wood for major structural and body components, while its engine and other hardware were not wooden.
Did Splinter really reach 240 mph?
No verified 240-mph run is documented in the sources cited here. Top Gear’s 2008 report called the figure hypothetical, deriving it from projected horsepower, vehicle weight and gearing—not from a measured run. WOOD Magazine later repeated the claim as a future capability while the car was still being built. Neither account establishes that Splinter achieved that speed.
The Bonneville 200 MPH Club’s 2025 Car Class Records and Minimums list does not include Splinter. That particular record list therefore does not corroborate a 240-mph run; its omission cannot establish that no private test or other event ever took place.
What was the Splinter car?
Splinter was Joe Harmon’s high-performance, mid-engine supercar project. WOOD Magazine described Harmon as a graduate student at NC State when he undertook the build. The project drew attention for using wood in parts of a car usually associated with metal or composite structures, not because it was an all-wood vehicle.
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Which parts were made of wood?
Top Gear’s 2008 description identifies a laminated wood-veneer monocoque chassis, wooden suspension components, wooden wheels and wooden body panels. InsideHook’s 2015 account also describes veneer body panels and oak-veneer wheel construction. These reports support calling Splinter predominantly wood or wood-intensive; they do not mean every component was wooden.
The distinction matters: wood formed major parts of the structure and exterior, while the drivetrain was conventional automotive hardware. The engine alone was described as an aluminum V8, not a wooden power unit.
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What powered Splinter?
Top Gear reported in 2008 that the planned powertrain was a 4.6-litre aluminum V8 with twin Roots-style superchargers. At the time, the engine was projected to produce at least 600 bhp. That was a period estimate, not a current or independently verified output figure.
InsideHook’s 2015 report identifies the engine as a Chevrolet V8. Together, the accounts establish that Splinter relied on a non-wood V8; they do not provide a basis for treating the projected output or top speed as tested results.
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Why use wood in a supercar?
Harmon argued that wood offered useful engineering possibilities. Top Gear quoted him saying, “Wood is a truly amazing material to work with,” and that it had “a higher strength-to-weight ratio than aluminum or steel.” Those are Harmon’s views, not independently demonstrated comparisons in the reporting cited here.
Wood’s role in Splinter is best understood as an ambitious application of a versatile material, rather than proof that wood generally outperforms aluminum, steel or carbon fiber. The cited coverage does not supply comparative engineering tests across species, designs or competing materials.
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What the 240-mph claim actually means
The headline figure describes projected potential reported during the project’s build period. It should not be read as a record, an instrumented test result or a confirmed top speed. Top Gear explicitly tied the estimate to anticipated power, weight and gearing; later retellings of the capability do not turn that estimate into a verified run.
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