NUST’s Formula Student Team (NFST), known for participating in and winning the Formula Student Competition in the UK, is building something new with the help of the electric car giant, Tesla. The team has been participating in the educational motorsport competition over the past 10 years, building combustion engine cars, however, all of that changes this time.
NFST is building a hybrid engine vehicle, using the Honda CBR 600 F4i motorcycle engine in a rear-wheel-drive configuration. The vehicle will use a 60-volt Lithium-ion battery pack with Tesla providing the battery management system.
The battery management system controls the voltage and temperature of the batteries, ensuring optimal performance and usability whenever the motor or motors draw power from the battery pack. It may sound simple on paper but a lot goes into a battery management system and with Tesla providing NFST with the system, things will progress a lot more smoothly.
NFST is looking to finish building the vehicle between March and April 2024, with the competition scheduled to begin in July of the same year.
Talking about Tesla’s sponsorship, the team says,
NUST Formula Student Team (NFST) brings Tesla onboard making the university proud once again. This marks a groundbreaking moment for innovation at NUST. As the longest-running and most prestigious university team in Pakistan, their consistent victories at Formula Student events continue to make the nation proud. Together with Tesla, NFST is poised for even greater success on the global stage.
Earlier this year at Formula Student UK 2023 Concept Class, the team took 1st position in the Lap Time Simulation event, which evaluates a car’s handling capabilities and how quickly it completes a simulated race track. NFST secured 6th position in the design and cost categories which assess the engineering and cost effectiveness of the vehicle.