Morning Cup O' Joe

From Gizmodo:

A group of students from North Carolina State University, led by industrial design student Joe Harmon, are building Splinter as part of a thesis project. Harmon and his car dons intend to look at how to work with wood in car designs, so Splinter even has wooden components in its suspension and chassis.

Crafting a car like this has required them to come up with some innovative uses of laminated wood—the wheels are made of carefully cut and layered oak veneers strong enough to take the stress of a 2,500-pound body—that’s as heavy as two Smart cars. And how do you stop the heat from its powerful mid-located V8 from setting fire to the body? Turn parts of it upside down so the exhaust vents over the top of the engine, and incorporate the muffler into the rear wing, where it can also aid downforce.