capstone project.

In 1994 Professor Robert Todd led a capstone team to build a feasible commuter vehicle known as the "Electovolt Ford Festiva". This began the interest in electric vehicles at BYU. The School of Technology took up the lead from there.

Tom Erekson gained substantial experience racing electric vehicles, such as the one pictured upper right, while working as a dean at Bowling Green State University. He brought racing with him; in 1999 BYU purchased a Lightning class racecar. Lightening class racecars look like Forumula-1 cars. This first BYU vehicle, dubbed Electric Blue, placed in the top three for five years.

In 2002 GM donated an EV1. The contract of the donation stipulated that the car could not be used on any roads public or private. That, coincidentally, left only racetracks. The Electric Vehicle Racing Team designed and built a custom drivetrain for the EV1. The EV1 defined a new category in electric racing. It set and then subsequently re-set world records in its class.

Are you interested in joining our effort to break 200 Miles per Hour and set a world record?

Please contact Perry Carter at carterp@byu.edu

Now the team has grown to include Professor Perry Carter, a formal race team of about ten students, and a well equipped shop. In 2004 the team was expanded with the addition of a capstone team once again.

Now it is the challenge of this team to do what has never been done before at BYU: design an entire racecar and set a world record with it. Currently the team aims to break the world speed record for an 1100 pound electric vehicle. The record stands at 132.353 miles per hour now.

Invention and expansion of knowledge is the future of transportation and is also the future of our world.