First Pakistan-Made Formula Electric Car Enters US Competition

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The National University of Science and Technology (NUST) has just added yet another feather to its cap. On Thursday, a team of five undergraduate students of Pakistan Navy Engineering College (PNEC), a constituent of NUST, unveiled the country’s first Formula electric car. The racing car was entirely designed and developed in-house under the Formula Electric Racing NUST (FERN) initiative, according to local media reports.

Pakistan-made Formula electric car to challenge Western cars

That’s not all. Their Formula electric car has been selected for the SAE Lincoln 2016 competition that will be held in Nebraska, USA between June 15-18. NUST student and team leader Abdul Aleem told media that the Formula SAE Lincoln is a leading competition for undergraduates organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). A total of 30 teams from six countries have qualified to participate in the competition. And FERN is the only team to be selected from Asia.

The Formula electric car was unveiled Thursday in Karachi. It is “a great honor for all of us to be part of the team and represent Pakistan at such a big stage,” Danial Thebo told the Express Tribune. Thebo is part of the communications and management team. He told the publication that the car was designed and built keeping in mind the rigorous standards of the SAE International.

The car has top speed of 110km/h

The team spent close to 16 months planning, designing, and building the Formula electric car. The total project cost, including participation expenses, are estimated at PKR 5 million. The project was financed by Bank Alfalah through its Rising Talent Award. Bank Alfalah CEO Atif Bajwa said developing Pakistan’s first Formula electric car and representing the country for the SAE Lincoln competition was a “landmark achievement.”

The car weighs 275kg and runs on lithium-ion polymer batteries. It can go from zero to 75 km/hour in just 4.8 seconds, and has the top speed of 110 km/hour. Other specifications include Unequal A-Arm suspension system, Rack & Pinion Type steering system, and Single Piston custom made aluminum Caliper braking system.

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