Motorsports Student Projects

Students at The Ohio State University have the opportunity to participate in Motorsports Student Projects. This program challenges students of all majors, backgrounds, skill levels and degrees of experience to compete on one of six student teams.

Applying research and classroom concepts, this experiential learning project teaches skills for designing, fabricating, racing, managing and marketing competition vehicles. This experience includes machining, engine testing, battery testing and computer aided design.

Support Motorsports Student Projects

Buckeye Solar Racing

Buckeye Solar Racing aims to design, build and race solar powered vehicles in national and international competitions. Started in April 2021 from the minds of a handful of ambitious engineering students, Buckeye Solar Racing provides students with the opportunity to gain technical engineering knowledge, business expertise and project management experience while advocating for the advancement of renewable energy methods.

group of students in a garage posing around a solar solar powered race car

Buckeye AutoDrive

Buckeye AutoDrive will join nine other universities in the AutoDrive Challenge™ II Competition! The teams will take on the challenge of developing and demonstrating an autonomous vehicle (AV) that can navigate urban driving courses as described by SAE J3016™ Standard Level 4 automation.

group of college students posing for photo outside of a garage

Venturi Buckeye Bullet

The mission of the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 3 team is to provide unique engineering challenges for students—valuable, hands-on experience—creating some of the best new engineers in the world. This student team pushes the envelope of electric vehicle technology and in so doing aims to change public perception of electric vehicles. Mission: prove that green technologies of the future will be both fun to drive and fast! Watch a video from September, 2017 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah. Support the team.

16 people standing in a row behind a long electric vehicle outside

Credit: Venturi 2016 Shivraj Gohil / Spacesuit Media

Ohio State EcoCAR

The EcoCAR Mobility Challenge is the latest Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition. The U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors and Mathworks are challenging 12 North American universities, including the Ohio State-Wilberforce team, to redesign a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer into a hybrid-electric, semi-autonomous and connected vehicle that has a reduced environmental impact, while maintaining or improving the practicality, styling and performance of the original design. Learn more. Support the team.

men and women standing on either side of a white vehicle

Buckeye Current

Buckeye Current was founded by students in 2010 as the Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team. The team’s goal is to provide students experience with electric vehicles and to construct a fully operable electric motorcycle to compete in races on both the national and international level. Learn more. Support the team here.

group of college students posing with an electric motorcycle

Formula Buckeyes SAE

Formula Buckeyes is a volunteer student organization tasked with building a race car to compete nationally and internationally. The team operates out of the Center for Automotive research at The Ohio State University. Support the team here.

group of college students posing with a formula racecar

Baja Buckeyes SAE

Baja Buckeyes SAE team is a student organization built to develop members' understanding of the automotive and motorsports businesses, as well as provide hands-on experiences that expand knowledge of engineering and fabrication practices. As a student-managed off-road race team, the group strives to present challenges to members, enabling them to learn the important elements of project management, business management and engineering design. Learn more. Support the team here.