Written by: Express News Service
2 min readMay 28, 2013 05:20 AM IST
First published on: May 28, 2013 at 05:20 AM IST
A TEAM of 40 second year engineering students from K J Somaiya College of Engineering have created their own fuel-efficient car,‘Jugaad’. The car,which has been in the works for five months,will compete at the Shell Eco Marathon,an international intercollegiate competition held at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur. One hundred and fifty teams participate in the competition,which is organised by Shell Global.
“When there was a drastic increase in fuel prices,we thought a solution was needed. That was when we got the idea of creating a fuel-efficient car,” Kunal Jain,who is part of the team,said.
The single-seater Jugaad weighs 65 kg and has a 35 cc petrol engine. “The inner surface is made of aluminum,while the exterior is made of fibreglass. We had to,however,compromise on the speed. The top speed of the car is only 40 km/hr,” Jain said.
The car has an electronic fuel injection system and an aerodynamic body.
Tony Thomas,another team member,said,“Building this car cost Rs 4 lakh. Initially,we received no support from the college,but when we explained our design,the authorities backed us a lot. Now,a team of eight will go to Kuala Lumpur for the competition.”
Thomas said the first-time automobile engineers had faced many problems with their machine.
“We had to keep thinking of better replacements when one option did not work out,” he said.
The competition is scheduled to be held between July 4 and July 7.
Samir Somaiya,vice president of Somaiya Vidyavihar,said that the institute’s endeavour is to encourage students to go beyond classroom education and put knowledge to practical use.
mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com
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