The competition – run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers - is the world’s largest student motorsport event and challenges student engineers to design, build and race a single seat racing car in one year. Dozens of Formula Student alumni have progressed to Formula 1, and hundreds more are now working at the world’s largest automotive firms helping to design and engineer the cars of tomorrow. Of the 178 teams to apply, 114 have successfully claimed a place for the competition – and IIT Bombay Racing will be among those lining up at the home of British motorsport. Also competing at Silverstone will be 61 teams from UK universities – up from 47 last year - and 53 electric vehicles, a 120% increase on 2013.

The single seater electric race car named 'EVo 3.0', third in its generation, made by IITB is the product of efforts from 60 engineering students from mechanical and electrical divisions. With a weight of 250 kgs, the car reaches 100 kmph in mere 4 seconds and attains a maximum speed of 100 kmph with a battery pack of 26 cells giving energy of 5 Kwh via lithium ion cells with maximum voltage of 110 V and 720 A current. “We have come with new ways to make the vehicle as lightweight as possible by using electronic differential and carbon fibre components, informed Abhishek Thote, a student member of the IITB Racing Team.

In the words of Prof. Ramesh Singh, the faculty advisor of IITB Racing team “IITB Racing experience provides an excellent platform for undergraduate students to apply the concepts learnt in classroom in action. It gives valuable hands-on experience which enables them to be better engineers and succeed in their chosen careers. There are examples of the team members from past three years who have joined best companies in automotive sector throughout the world like Tesla and Altair Engineering and published papers in best technical conferences like SAE and ASME international conferences. India is one of the fastest growing automobile markets in the world, and the industry here requires students who bring technological expertise to the automobile industry. I sincerely believe that IIT Bombay Racing has the potential to make significant contribution to satisfy this need.”

Jon Hilton, Chairman of Formula Student said, “It’s brilliant to see teams like IIT Bombay Racing competing in Formula Student 2014 – it shows that the competition remains one of the most important learning experiences for those aiming to combine their studies with exposure to a real world engineering project. Formula Student is a global competition and we want to continue to encourage brilliant young engineers from across the globe to improve their practical skills and get ready to play their part in the vibrant worldwide engineering community.”