Mysuru: Force Ikshvaku of the National Institute of  Engineering (NIE) is Mysuru’s first and only Formula Student team.

The team consists of over 25 undergraduate engineering students from all years of study, who start from scratch to design, fabricate and compete with their very own Formula style race cars.

The cars are designed and built entirely by students within the college campus.

With three years of successful participation in ‘SUPRA SAEINDIA’ under their belt and being placed as high as 7th nationally, they are now ready to take it up a notch above and participate in Formula Bharat-2018 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, scheduled for January 2018. The team has already begun fabrication of the latest iteration of their car.

Over the years, the team has grown in both technical and practical aspects of race car design. The team has begun to explore modern engineering practices such as the use of glass and carbon fibre composite materials, aerospace-grade lightweight aluminium alloys, and electronic engine control to mention a few.

Not compromising on the quality and performance of the car, an increase in budget was inevitable and, therefore, in addition to the support provided by the college and external sponsors, the team has opted to use social media as a means of publicity, and even launched a crowd-funding campaign online. They have set a target of Rs. 1,25,000, “All or Nothing”, of which about Rs. 30,000 is required by the 23rd of November 2017.

The team hopes to have the car finished and running by the end of this month and follow up with two months of testing and tuning the car, and get themselves ready for the event.