Engineering students from KJ Somaiya College of Engineering, Vidyavihar, launched their latest racing car ORI 2013 “ARION-2” on Tuesday.
The indigenously designed car, created by students of the institute, will be heading for Germany next week to compete against 44 countries in the Formula Student Germany Competition, 2013.
The Arion racing car was launched in 2007 by a group of motor sports enthusiasts from KJ Somaiya; after their research earned them a place in the Formula Student Germany competition 2007. Since then, the engineering students of the college have taken it upon themselves to launch better cars each year.
According to team captain Sohil Shah, ARION-2 was built on a budget of `20 lakh.
“The car boasts of a light-weighted carbon fiber body, which weighs 240 kg; this enables it to reach speeds of 100 km per hour. The car was tested at the Wadala Anik Depot from February 22 onward. It gives us a global exposure where we get to interact with teams from other countries,” he said.
ORI-2013 has made use of advanced manufacturing processes like rapid prototyping. Equipped with a revolutionary design that enables fine adjustment of drive train tension, the steering wheel contains an interactive driver interface that consists of gear position indicators and RPM lights.
ORI-2013 has a lot of sensors on board and an on-board telemetry system that enables engineers to view data from the various sensors from a distance of 100 metres, without the use of wires.
Shubha Pandit, principal of KJ Somaiya, said, “Our students have put a lot of hard work, dedication and toiled relentlessly for over nine months to come up with a remarkable fuel-efficient prototype that would make a mark in the competition.”