A team from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, won this year’s Formula Student competition which took place at Silverstone this weekend.
The petrol car, which featured a rear-wing aerodynamic package, took consistent top 10 positions in all of the eight events that make up the competition, winning the gruelling 22km endurance race.
Chalmers beat the electric car from Delft University of Technology by just 2.4 points. Monash University, based in Melbourne, Australia, took third place.
Formula Student, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers since 1998, challenges universities from across the world to design and build an F1-style racing car in one year before racing them at Silverstone. The cars are judged on their speed, acceleration, handling and endurance, while the teams are tested on their design, costing and business presentation skills. Around 3,000 students in 134 teams from 34 countries entered this year’s competition.
Andrew Deakin, Formula Student vice-chairman, said: “Chalmers University’s car is a masterpiece of engineering that makes a worthy winner. As well as being one of the fastest cars round the track, it also performed consistently and impressively in the static events.
“This year’s competition has been truly impressive, with many of the cars displaying world class engineering that wouldn’t be out of place in a Formula One paddock. These young engineers will mature into the motorsport team bosses and industry leaders of the future.”
