Exeter’s Formula for Success

The team was judged on business, cost and design aspects and the car was tested in the competition for acceleration and economy. The team were delighted to have the car accepted by rigorous technical and safety scrutineers on their first attempt, which barred some teams from competing in any dynamic elements. 

Exeter was the highest placed new entrant in the competition with a final result of 62nd from an original field of 103 entrants. Most of the costs were covered by sponsorship from industry and the University’s Annual Fund.

The car was designed to be as reliable as possible as each year a large proportion of the cars fail to finish. It uses an engine taken from an old Honda 600cc motorcycle, converted to electronic fuel injection by the team, with chassis, steering and suspension, drive train, braking, cooling and bodywork designed and built by the students with guidance from the University’s technical support staff and the Centre for Additive Layer Manufacturing.  

With only limited resources, the team had opted to save money by not using a differential in the driveshaft, which had the effect of making tight corners difficult and increasing fuel consumption. In the final Endurance event, held on a narrow twisting track, the team hit more cones than any other team and eventually ran out of fuel. The overall winner was ETH Zürich, a team with students from four Swiss universities with a sophisticated four-wheel drive electric car with a carbon fibre structure.  

The team’s supervisor Dr Steve Childe said “It was an ambitious project to enter a full working car in the team’s first year. Most new teams simply enter the static judging to have their designs assessed before proceeding to build the car in the following year. I would have been happy just to get the car to Silverstone but to achieve results in all but one of the events is marvellous. The team worked really well together.”

He also praised the Team Leader, Mechanical Engineering student Duncan Weatherhead, for persuading the University to enter the competition and raising the initial funding from the University’s Annual Fund: “Duncan has shown excellent leadership skills in managing the team and obtaining the best from each team member while completing the car. Engineering is not just about technical skills but also about managing people, money and time. This competition gives students a fantastic experience that is really valued by employers.” 

Large engineering companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, Shell, Bosch, Cameron and GKN support the competition as part of their graduate recruitment.

The Exeter car was brought home in full working order and will provide the next team with an example to work from to improve handling, fuel economy and weight for next year.

To see more photos from the race visit the CEMPS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.409131009205922.1073741839.121263457992680&type=1&l=4a33399019