Sambalpur: Students of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) in Burla have drawn national attention after building a formula racing car that won top honours in the lightweight category and secured the all-India second position at the Imperial-2025 competition. The vehicle, named ‘Ares’, was developed by the ‘Veer Racers Electric’ team which comprises 60 students from various departments. The project, which took about seven months of research and fabrication, showcased the team’s skill in design, welding, safety engineering and chassis balance.
According to team mentor Dr Debasish Tripathy, the students handled every stage of the car’s development — from design to welding on their own. He said the university consistently encourages innovation and hands-on learning. Team captain Saishankar Pattnayak said the national-level event, hosted at the Coast High Performance Centre in Coimbatore from October 30 to November 3, featured top engineering colleges from across the country. VSSUT was the only institution from Odisha to participate. The car performed strongly in acceleration, autocross, endurance and track-based tests, earning praise for its stability, control and weight distribution. The team also won the award for best female participation, which went to Darshana Puhan.
Students Adyasha Dev and Amritanshu Tripathy were recognised for their business presentation. While racing car construction in India typically costs Rs 13-15 lakh, the VSSUT team developed ‘Ares’ for just Rs 6.5 lakh. Students credited their success to guidance from faculty members Prof Debasish Tripathy, Prof Truptiranjan Mohapatra, Punyapriya and Prof RR Dash. Pattnayak said the team will now conduct further research to identify areas for improvement and refine the vehicle for future competitions.