First Electric Racing Car From IIT Madras Rolled Out by Students’ ‘Raftar Formula Racing’ Team

The first electric formula racing car from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) was unveiled on Monday. Built by Team Raftar students, the formula car “RF23” is the outcome of a year-long process of design, manufacture, and testing. Team Raftar - one of the competition teams of the Centre For Innovation (CFI) at IIT Madras - is made up of 45 students from ten departments representing various disciplines. The institute has been engaged in research about combustion engines for a long time. RF23 is an endeavor in the shift away from combustion engines to electric vehicles. Speaking to newspersons, IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti said that this project will help to develop the next level of electric vehicle technology. Due to the higher power produced by an electric motor, the team anticipates improvements in speed and lap times on RF23 compared to the older Internal Combustion Engine model. Kamakoti revealed that the next project would be on autonomous (driverless) cars and work on that project will start next year. Like RF23, technologies in the autonomous race car will be put to various stress tests, he said. IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti while unveiling the car said that he is hopeful that the car will be number one in various competitions. The team is eager to represent India on an international stage, establishing industry-standard engineering practices and strengthening engineering students' practical technical knowledge.