Electrified innovation: IIT-B develops racing car for FS UK '22 competition'; see pics

IIT Bombay Racing, the student tech team of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay that designs and formulates electric race cars have launched their car for the next racing season. The breakthrough comes after a two-year Covid-19 hiatus.

The launch event had the car rollout, which was driven at top speed by a certified Formula student driver, in front of a cheering crowd in the college campus.

The tech team comprises 80 students who came together from 10 different engineering departments and worked in building the electric racing car. The innovative vehicle will participate in the Formula Student (FS) UK 2022, which is a student engineering competition held annually in the United Kingdom.

The students, their families, the sponsors and the professors came for the event to encourage the students and congratulate them for their extra efforts taken throughout the pandemic to get the car ready with the coordination of different engineering departments.

One of the students, Subodh Wankhade said, “Amid these difficult times of the pandemic, securing the leading position and setting new records was a great achievement and a much-needed morale boost for the entire team. It is our flagship event where we showcase the research, development and achievements we have attained as a team.”

Faculty advisor of the tech team, Prof Sandeep Anand, said, “I remember when I was a student, it was so difficult to make even small car models but these students have built such an amazing electric racing car which is truly commendable. They were the first to build an electric racing car in the country in 2012 which was quite early on, major companies have just recently started concentrating on electric vehicles.”

Some of the sponsors who supported these students and their efforts were NRB Bearings, Mahle and Godrej.

Student teams from around the world design, build, test, and race a small-scale formula style racing car. They are judged and awarded based on different categories. Last year, IIT-B was the winner of the ‘Formula Student Concept Class Overall’ 2021.