Formula SAE sets sights on competition with race car project

It takes a lot of hard work to design and build a race car. Just ask Eric Duncan, president of the UNC Charlotte Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) team.

“There (are) a lot of late nights in the shop going until midnight or later and waking up the next day for your 8 a.m. all tired,” said Duncan, a mechanical engineering major who is concentrating in motorsports. “It’s a rough life, but it’s fun.”

It also takes a lot of money. The team will take the car that it is building this year to competitions in Nebraska and Michigan and is trying to raise $7,500 through a crowdfunding campaign to pay for parts and materials for the car’s construction.

Formula SAE lets teams test their engineering design and project management skills by designing and building a single-seat autocross race car. The team races the car in competitions such as the international Formula SAE Michigan, where the UNC Charlotte team will test its car against those made by students from colleges around the world. Duncan said there are 20 to 30 students who are helping build the car this year.

The team will first attend the Formula SAE competition in Lincoln, Nebraska, in June 2019. The team will use the car it builds to compete in the Michigan competition in 2020. Team members compete in various events to test their car’s performance on the race track in areas such as acceleration and endurance. Students also give sales presentations on their cars as part of the competition.

Learn more about other fall crowdfunding campaigns underway.

Photo by Vanessa Flinchum