CORNWALL’S future engineers have launched a new electric car challenge at Bodmin’s STEM and Health Skills Centre.

The engines may have been silent, but the excitement was electric at the STEM and Health Skills Centre in Bodmin recently, as Truro and Penwith College students launched their latest Engineering project — with a surprise visit from none other than The Stig.

All geared up and ready to race, the mystery motorsport icon joined the college’s future Formula 1 engineers to unveil a brand-new, student-led challenge: to design, build and race a winning Formula 24+ electric car.

The college race team will compete in a national competition run by the Greenpower Education Trust, whose CEO, Barnabas Shelbourne, joined the event remotely to introduce the challenge.

They said: “We set up this competition to help unlock potential and spark enthusiasm for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) through the excitement of motorsport. This challenge offers a fun way to put the skills you’ve learnt in the classroom into practice.”

With components laid out and minds racing, students explored the competition rules, design requirements and technical specifications needed to take on the challenge. The launch marks the start of months of teamwork, problem-solving and innovation as learners prepare to test their electric vehicle on the track.

Simon Evans, Future is Green Project coordinator, at Truro and Penwith College, added: “It’s an electric vehicle, which was very important for the College, so all the skills involved in this project will be of a sustainable nature. As well as design, fabrication and engineering skills, we are going to replicate some of the roles you see in a big racing team, so students will need to fill positions such as project manager, health and safety officer and marketing.”