VIT team to take part in Mini Baja contest

A 14-member team from the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Tamil Nadu, will soon be flying to New York to take part in the Mini Baja SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) collegiate design competition.

The competition will be held at the Rochester Institute of Technology during June 7-10.

"We have been working on the Mini Baja car project since September 2006 and have already designed, analysed and fabricated an ATV (all-terrain vehicle). The vehicle would be shipped to New York this week," Avinash Mitta, a member of the team, told mediapersons here on Tuesday. The project involved an investment of around Rs 1.55 lakh.

This year, 140 teams from across the world are participating in the competition.

The 14-member team, of which 12 are from Andhra Pradesh, adopted a Briggs & Stratton engine from Belgium for the 300cc vehicle. The ATV weighs around 175 kg and has a maximum speed of 75 kilometres.

"The objective of the competition is to provide students with a challenging project that involves planning and manufacturing of an off-road vehicle. Teams compete against one another to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm," Avinash said. Members of the accepted design would secure pre-placement offers from the automotive and related industries, he added.

Soma Enterprise Limited, Sujana Group, Madhucon Projects, Indu Group, B Seethaiah & Company (Projects) Limited, Cel Cabs and Ritwik Projects have sponsored the VIT team's project. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy has assured a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the project.