Norwich pupils' model cars put Lotus in the shade

Mini Formula 1 team, Team Elan, from Norwich City Academy, test the speed of the gas-powered cars they have designed and made on the special track, during the Manufacturing and Product Design diploma course at Hethel Engineering. From left the 14-year-old

MATTHEW SPARKES
21 November 2009 11:00



As the Norfolk home of Lotus, Hethel has a history of producing sleek and speedy sports cars like the Elise, Exige and Evora.

But next to the latest independent designs from nearby Hethel Engineering Centre, these cars look gigantic and sluggish in comparison.

Because yesterday six very unusual machines with acceleration to beat any Lotus were put through their paces - and each was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

The 20cm long balsa wood cars were designed by a host of 14- and 15-year-old Norwich students on a new manufacturing and product design diploma based at Norfolk County Council's Hethel Engineering Centre.

One of their course projects was to create tiny compressed gas-powered cars to run down a 20-metre track as quickly as possible.

The students have been working on the cars since September and after yesterday's final round of testing they are ready to compete in the regional finals of a national competition on Tuesday.

And judging by the speeds reached in testing, they are in with a very good chance.

The fastest car on the day was created by the Pluto team and ran the course in just 1.294 seconds, with team Elan and Exige not far behind.

Pluto manager Rachael Crook , from Notre Dame High School, was pleased with the results, but slightly scared by the speed of the car as she had to catch it in a towel when it reached the end of the track.

“It's really hard to see it,” she said. “One minute it was there and the next it was at the end.”

Rachel and her colleagues designed the car from scratch on a computer and tested it in a virtual wind tunnel before the body was carved from balsa wood.

After this they were painted in team colours and fitted with wheels and hooks to keep it on the track.

The power for the cars comes from a tiny cylinder of compressed C02 - which most people would recognise from homemade fizzy drink machines.

Brian Conway, deputy headmaster at Notre Dame High School, explained that creating the ideal design was a balancing act between designing the fastest car possible and not straying from the brief.

“In F1 you've got a whole lot of rules to stick to, and it's the same with this,” he said.

“It's very different to the kind of lessons they would have in school.”

The children studying the diploma come from Notre Dame High School, City of Norwich School, Framingham Earl High School, City Academy Norwich, Hewett High School, and Wayland Community High School.

They study two days a week at the Hethel Engineering Centre for the course, which is worth the equivalent of seven GCSEs.

Do you have a hi-tech story to share? Call Matthew Sparkes on 01379 651153 or email matthew.sparkes@archant.co.uk.

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