Explaining why the team was named that way, 1.618’s corporate head, Abhinav Narayan says that the number, “is the golden ratio, the building block of the entire universe. And this number doesn’t just extend to the group’s name. Many parts of our world, including our bodies, abide by this ratio in terms of composition. We took this to the next level and implemented the ratio while designing the vehicle. It’s known as the most aesthetic ratio, but adhering to it proved to be our biggest challenge,” he says.
Consisting of first through fourth-year students from SRM University’s Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) Department, Team 1.618 has built the vehicle from scratch. Raising ₹7.5 lakh through sponsorships from some of the largest companies in the nation was “a difficult task,” Narayan admits, but the support of departmental faculty allowed the students to work diligently and with new-found determination.
“We all know that fossil fuels play a huge role in climate change and the destruction of our environment right now. While hybrid options have been around for some time, the commercially-produced hybrid racing cars are extremely expensive. The power train in our vehicle is a unique, cost-effective model that we hope to install in a new vehicle and transport abroad,” Narayan says.
Research and development of the technology has been handled by first and second-year students while students of the third and fourth-years have helmed the execution. The finished product is a sight to see. For the students, though, it’s just the beginning.
“We’ll use this vehicle for test drives and make a new one based on the current vehicle’s shortcomings. Ideally, we want to take the final model of the car to America for racing this year,” says Narayan.
Optimistism seems to be in the air — the students who dance around in celebration are enthusiastic about the road ahead.
“The technology we’ve used — it could change the industry completely. For us, this could be the next Formula One race car. That’s enough to keep us going,” smiles Narayan.
