Change the world

NMMU Racing Logo

Formula Student is an international competition between students from all over the world, founded in 1981, where these students are required to develop and manufacture a single seat formula race car. This vehicle will then be put through rigorous testing on a racetrack, since the competition is not just based on which car can go the fastest but the best overall package with regards to the whole process of car development, which includes engineering design, vehicle performance, financial planning and marketing.

NMMU Racing was founded in 2008 by the International Chair of Automotive Engineering at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The chair, sponsored by Volkswagen South Africa and the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD facilitates an exchange program in which in the early parts of 2008 a German exchange student introduced the formula student project to NMMU students and, by the end the year the team had grown to over fifteen members from all disciplines within the university. The exchange program also facilitates knowledge transfer where by students from NMMU were able to attend the Formula Student Germany competition to gain further insight into how the German Formula Student teams function.

Along with mechanical and electrical engineering students, the team now comprises of business, marketing, IT, photography and human movement science students all lending their expertise and enthusiasm to this project.

The Formula Student vehicle is a single-seat formula type car with a 600cc motorcycle engine and fully independent double-wishbone suspension. Advanced technology is used to develop these cars including the latest computer-aided design and engineering CAD/CAE software, electronic fuel injection control, engine and chassis data acquisition with telemetry for vehicle parameter monitoring and the latest steel, aluminium alloy and composite manufacturing techniques.

NMMU Racing was the first team from Africa to successfully participate in Formula Student Germany, meaning that NMMU and indeed Port Elizabeth set the benchmark in this regard. In doing so, we hope to gain local community support for the project by enhancing the image of the city and institution as a whole.