IUPUI’s MET Race Car Has Successful Debut

Engineering and Technology Professor Peter Hylton is shown with the new MET race car.

INDIANAPOLIS – A new IUPUI race car, designed and built entirely by Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology student projects, made a successful debut last weekend.

On Sunday, August 27, MET Professor Pete Hylton gave the car its initial competition run at a Sports Car Club of American Solo event, taking a first-in-class trophy.

“This was really just a shake-down cruise to see if we were happy with the engine, drivetrain, and chassis modifications that have been completed,” Hylton said. “The carburetors obviously need a little tuning, because we were starving for fuel at higher RPMs, but for now, I think we can say that we’re pretty pleased with the progress that has been made.”

Called Catherine or “Cat” because of a paint job that incorporates the IUPUI spirit mark and other Jaguar graphics, the race car is an MGB-GT which has been completely stripped down, modified for competition, and rebuilt in a series of student projects which began in the fall of 2005.

The car’s current engine, and a twin back-up, were built by students in the MET 426 Internal Combustion Engines class; the safety equipment and the chassis stiffening were part of an MET 414 Senior Design project; the body modifications were done by students in the MET 299 Intro to Motorsports class; and the graphics scheme for the car was selected from a competition among IUPUI Computer Graphics Technology students.

The car, which is ultimately intended to compete in wheel-to-wheel competition in SCCA Club Racing, is still undergoing development. When the 1.8 liter, 4-cyclinder machine is ready for a top speed run, its builders hope the race car will reach 120 mph.

“It’s got as good a chance (of winning) as any other one out there,” said MET senior David Shepherd, a stock car racing enthusiast. He helped build “Cat’s” engine and prepped the car for painting. He recommends the IUPUI motorsports program to those interested in motorsports careers.

“If they are interested in racing in any way, shape or form, they ought to try it because there are a lot of different opportunities here. It’s not just specifically doing the engine. There are a broad variety of opportunities,” Shepherd said. “We are looking at the suspension now, and the aerodynamics of it.”

Like Shepherd, many of the MET students working on the project car are also earning the IUPUI Motorsports Technology Certificate. The chance to have a hands-on experience in building an actual race car is a unique opportunity on a college campus, Hylton says.

The next group to get a shot at working on the car will be students in the MET 499 Vehicle Dynamics class who will attack the suspension and have the car ready for real racing competition by spring.

Building “Cat” is only one of several projects that the IUPUI Motorsports program has initiated in the past year. Others include a student built go-kart, which competed successfully in the 2006 Purdue Grand Prix; and summer internships which placed students on the Panther Racing IRL team and the Champ Car World Series Tech Inspection Team.

In addition to putting the student project car on the track in 2007, the recently announced joint project between IUPUI and Panther Racing to field a car in the Indy Pro Series will offer IUPUI students in the technology, marketing, public relations, business and hospitality areas a chance to run a major league racing effort.

“The motorsports program is just a great program if you are really into racing and it gives you a jump start into a racing career perhaps as well,” said MET senior Cory Gioscio, who built “Cat’s” reserve engine.

Gioscio, a Formula 1 fan, anticipates continuing his love affair with cars and their engines after earning his degree.

“When I graduate in December, I hope to get on with either Honda, Toyota or Nissan as a manufacturing and process engineer … maybe get into product development,” Gioscio said.