From July 31 to August 5, the best electric-vehicle teams met up in Hockenheim, Germany, for the Formula Student Germany Electric competition. Among hundreds of teams from all over the world, the Polytechnique crew was the first and only representative of the Americas to take part.

Two and a half months before the competition, the team sent the car's chassis by ship to the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, in Germany. They assembled the car using parts they brought over in their luggage. After four days of work, the car was rolling and the team spent a further three days improving its performance.

Before they could race, the team had to prove to the competition jury that the car was safe. While the team managed to convince the jury that the electrical and mechanical aspects were safe, they ran short on time to pass the last phase of inspection, which prevented them from taking their place at the starting line.

“Our lack of experience explains the situation,” said Hugues Marceau, captain of the technical society. “This was our first attempt. The jury is very strict and we are proud to have met the electrical and mechanical criteria, while most teams don't even make it that far.”



He continued: “Our participation in the competition taught us things we couldn't have learned any other way, and helped us solidify our team's existence at Polytechnique. We are in the first development phase for our next car and we're looking for industry partners to help us with the design and building using composite materials and propelled by wheel motors.”

Online:
Official website
Facebook page for Formule Électrique