This may sound like the work of a noted car manufacturer.

But the vehicle has been built by a 17-member team from Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology (MJCET).

And they are gearing up to use the vehicle at the Baja SAE India 2009, a motorsports event organised by the Society of Automotive Engineers at Peethampur near Indore from January 30 to February 1.

Team effort

“It took us six months to build this vehicle which is much sturdier than the previous one made by our seniors last year. This time, we have put in a single cylinder 340 cc Lombardini petrol engine which was given to us by the organisers of the event. All of us pitched in right from the design, fabrication and assembling of the vehicle along with help from our teachers and experts from the automobile industry. It was built at a cost of Rs. 1.4 lakh,” said Syed Naser Mohinuddin, a team member.

Over 60 vehicles from other engineering colleges from across the country will be participating in the event. Vehicles will be tested in areas such as manoeuvrability, acceleration and hill climbing to name a few.

Keeping the events in mind and taking a cue from their previous off-road car, students have made slight modifications to the vehicle.

Apart from the slick racing seat, steering wheel and steel frame, the team has improvised on the brakes too.

Endurance testing “We have installed four disc brakes and the rear tyres have a combination of drum and disc brakes for events like endurance testing and climbing. We are looking forward to getting a prize in those categories,” added Subodh Kumar, another team member.