Electric racing car

EPFL is set to make its debut in Formula Student this year, pitting a brand-new electric racing car developed by Lausanne Racing Team - and unveiled at an event at the Rolex Learning Center on Tuesday, 9 April - against other universities in races held across Europe. Just over a year ago, a group of 60-or-so car-obsessed EPFL students embarked on a crazy challenge: to develop an electric single-seater racing car from scratch. The finished article, called Orion , unveiled at a special event on Tuesday, 9 April, will take part in Formula Student Electric - one of three event classes alongside internal combustion-engine and driverless cars. "It was a hugely challenging endeavor, but we recognize the importance of sustainable engineering," says Pierre Georges, the Lausanne Racing Team president and a Master's student in mechanical engineering. "We've gained valuable experience in a sector of the automotive industry that's only going to grow in the future." Formula Student is the European arm of Formula SAE, a competition launched by the US-based Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in 1981 in which students are tasked with designing and building a prototype single-seater racing car. Once the technology-packed vehicles are ready, teams put them to the test in a series of track demonstrations, including an endurance race. Asking the right questions The EPFL team is supervised by Mario Paolone, a motorsports fan and professor in electrical engineering, and Anders Meibom, a professor in environmental sciences and engineering.