Bulldogs Racing Takes Its First All-Electric Car To Competition

In a few days, the Bulldogs Racing team's first all-electric race car, BR16, takes to the race track for the first time.

This weekend, the team and its car head up to New Hampshire to compete in the SAE International against teams from as far as away as Turkey and India. Once there, the car first has to undergo a technical inspection. The actual races take place the middle of next week. "We're a little nervous, but things are moving along," said Taha Z. Ramazanoglu, president of Bulldogs Racing.

In 2013, Bulldogs Racing took top prize in the 2013 Formula Hybrid International at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The club, a student group sponsored by SEAS that builds hybrid gas-electric racecars, seeks to reclaim the title in 2016. Rather than repeating what's already proven successful, though, the Bulldogs Racing team decided to take their new car in a different direction. 

"We wanted to explore the all-electric option because it lets us focus more on one system as opposed to dividing our time between the gas engine and electric engine," Ramazanoglu said.

Building the car has been a two-year process, with a flurry of activity in the last few months. The 17 active members spent much of that time piecing together the many components of the car, most of which were made at Yale. Powering the car is a box of four battery stacks that provide up to 600 amps at 300 volts.

"The top speed of the motor is about 6,000 RPM – that gives us about 90 mph top speed," Ramazanoglu said.

He said that the project has been fun, but it's also a lot of work. "Basically what brings people to the team is a passion for cars and building stuff," he said. "The design cycle is usually two years, so it's a pretty long-term project, and it takes some dedication."