Its a car that can fit in the palm of a hand spread wide, powered by a 2.5cc engine and a two-stroke internal combustion engine. But dont go by its dinky size. Christened Beast 2.0, it has won five engineering students from Pune the Full Throttle competition at the IIT Techfest held in Mumbai from January 24-26. The Japanese engine uses nitro-methane as fuel, and is remote controlled.The team, comprising Brijesh Singh Bisht, Sharun Kumar and P.S. Sriram from Punes G.S. Moze College of Engineering, and Jomson Perayil and Neeraj Gole from Rajarshi Shahu College of Engineering, bagged the coveted cash award of Rs.48,000, by clocking the fastest timing in the competition despite showcasing the least powerful engine.
Student participants were asked to design a vehicle using an internal combustion engine which should prove its endurance on a test track with jumps, loose mud and bridges, explains Vaibhav Desai, a member of the Techfest organising committee. In the last stage of the competition, based on the Formula 1 racing system, the model cars were raced on tracks measuring about 100 metres. Of the 300 teams which registered for this years event, 103 were short-listed for the compe-tition, and the Pune teams Beast 2.0 was adjudged best entry.
Explaining the key features of the model car, P.S. Sriram says: The primary factor that worked to our advantage is that we used nylon instead of metal for making the body, and this helped reduce the weight of the car. Subsequently, by scouring around for the best and most affordable deals (and this included visiting the citys flea market for various accessories), we were able to restrict the total cost of manufacture to Rs.25,000.
Speaking on behalf of the team, Neeraj Gole, a final year mechanical engineering student, ascribes their success to teamwork despite the students belonging to separate colleges. Each team member was assigned a specific job according to his expertise. I was involved in the process of fabricating and testing the vehicle for almost a month. The tools and equipment were provided by the Rajarshi Shahu College of Engineering, says Gole.
Operationally, the quintet worked on developing the model in a plant nursery, converting one of the green houses into a makeshift workshop prior to submitting their model car. Techfest is the annual international science and technology festival of IIT-Bombay.
Huned Contractor (Pune)