Team leader Vincent Tantio, 22, in ‘Herbie’s’ cockpit, with teammates Amaresh Choudury Malakar, 22 and Jason Wong Yuen Sung, 22. All three are the university’s mechanical engineering students. The car is not fully-assembled yet and hence the wheels and battery pack are not attached to it.It is not exactly for profit either, and just five of its students are involved in making cars.
This year, over 100 student teams from countries in the Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern region will compete, putting the energy-efficient cars they design and build to the test at the Sepang International Circuit . Last year, the Asian leg winning team’s car was efficient enough to travel 2,341 kilometres – about the distance from Kuala Lumpur to Yangon – on just one litre of ethanol.
The top teams will then go for victory in the 2019 Drivers’ World Championship, to be held in July in London.Teams of university/college or high/secondary school students build one of two types of cars – “Prototype” or “UrbanConcept” . UrbanConcept cars with proven energy efficiency may also qualify to test their drivers’ strategy and skill in the Drivers’ World Championship qualifier.All participants have the chance to enter a selection of four off-track awards, in areas from communication to vehicle design.