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K. J Somaiya engineering students launch ORI - 2014 Formula Styled Race Car

Mumbai July 4, 2014: The students of K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, unveiled their latest offering ORI 2014. The car is a prototype for an International Design Competition at Germany, known as Formula Student Germany. The lightweight car comes with a Custom Built driver interface with live telemetry system and superior adjustability in suspension system alongwith extensive carbon fibre implementation as some of its highpoints. The competition shall take place in Hockenheimring, Germany from 30th July to 3rd August 2014. The Formula SAE competition is held by the Society of Automotive Engineers, and is the biggest engineering design competition in the world. ORI 2014 would be K.J Somaiya Engineering College, entry to the Formula SAE competition. ORI 2014 will compete against 44 countries that participate in the SAE Competition to prove their might in the domain of automobile engineering excellence.

The Somaiya team has been participating at Formula Student Germany since 2007 making new race cars every year. In 2012 they became the 1st Indian team to complete all dynamic events at the competition. The Somaiya team is  currently India’s top Ranked student Racing Team amongst the 450 odd teams in India that make such similar prototypes.The race car was showcased to sports enthusiasts and automobile industry experts at the Somaiya Vidyavihar Campus today.

Says Mrs.Shubha Pandit “At K J Somaiya College of Engineering, we believe that one of the best ways to learn is through actually undertaking projects. This enables the students to understand real life situations and adapt to them. The advantages of the experience and learning achieved by competing on global patforms is immense. They get the opportunity to interact with respected global engineering companies and some of our students have been selected to work in companies such as Tesla, Apple, Chrysler, Eric Bouelle racing, Bentley/ Aero, Mahindra EPC, Volkswagen Mototsports and GE Aviation. Our approach towards handons projects by students enable the industry to absorb well trained & experienced engineers, who are better equipped to deal with the real world.”

Say the students “The experience of working in these projects trains us not only in the engineering aspects, but also important life skills like working in teams, project management, logistics, working as per global specifications and most importantly competing with teams from across the world, while also building good relations with them.  Going to a different country and competing builds our confidence.”

ORI-2014 has made use of advanced manufacturing processes like Rapid Prototyping. Equipped with a revolutionary Eccentric drive train design that enables fine adjustment of drive train tension, the steering wheel contains an interactive driver interface that consists of gear position indicators and rpm lights. ORI-2014 has a lot of sensors onboard and an on-board telemetry system that enables engineers to view data from the various sensors from 100 m away without the use of wires.ORI-2014 has implemented extensive carbon fibre applications including an entry into aerodynamics by building an underbody diffuser for the first time in its history, making the car light weight at the same time.  The competition also sets pace for industry stalwarts to judge and recognise talent at the early age, as the race car that participates in the competition is completely conceptualized, developed, funded and driven by engineering students across the world.

Objective for this year: TO BE IN THE TOP 25 of the event.

Acceleration event 4.1 sec. Endurance and Fuel Economy to finish in the top 25. To be in the top 10 of skid pad event.  Try to win the COST AND BUSINEES plan event, and be in the top 20 of the Design.

About Formula SAE:

The Formula SAE competition is held by the Society of Automotive Engineers, and is the biggest engineering design competition in the world. It is a worldwide competition, with events held in the United States (2), UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, Brazil and Italy. The competition comprises seven events split up into two categories wiz: Static events and Dynamic events. The events include Cost and Manufacturing Analysis, Business Plan Presentation, Design, Acceleration, Skid Pad, Autocross, Fuel Economy, and Endurance.


Somaiya Vidyavihar encompasses 34 institutions, with more than 35,000 students and 1,400 faculty. It’s main campus is in Mumbai, but Somaiya Vidyavihar also operates six schools in rural India. It was founded by the Shri Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya in 1959, to provide quality holistic education.

Somaiya Vidyavihar has always been a place with a purpose - making a positive difference in quality of life of its students and the community. It is known as much for its science, technology, engineering, management, social sciences and commerce programs, as for its programs for academic studies in various faiths and cultures of India.

It was the vision of Shri K.J. Somaiya that modern professional education must remain true to the spirit of Indian ethos and culture. He insisted on value-basededucation, believing learning how to make a living is not enough. That students must also be taught on what is a life worth living. He was passionate about propagating the Sanskrit language and the promotion of studies in ancient Indian thought and culture. He envisaged Somaiya Vidyavihar as an institution where students and teachers would live in an intellectual and spiritual fellowship.

Academically, Somaiya Vidyavihar’s role in promoting education comes from the belief that education is the single most important contributor in the growth of the country and the individual. Somaiya Vidyavihar welcomes a diverse student body of students from across India and the world.