Designing a Formula Student car requires every system to be considered as part of a much larger whole. Decisions made in one area of the vehicle can directly influence the design and performance of another, particularly when several mechanical and electrical systems have to share the same limited space. This has been an important development of HRD07, Hanze Racing Division’s first Formula Student electric vehicle. Throughout the project, the team has worked to bring together the chassis, suspensions, steering, drivetrain, accumulator and electrical systems while ensuring that each remains compatible with the overall vehicle design.
As development progressed, system integration became increasingly important. A chassis design, for example, has to provide the required structural performance while also allowing sufficient space for the suspension, drivetrain, accumulator and driver. In the same way, electrical components must meet their own functional and safety requirements while fitting within the mechanical layout of the car. HRD07 therefore represents more than the development of individual components. It is the process of bringing several engineering disciplines together and turning separate designs into one complete vehicle.
The chassis forms the foundation of this process. Its design has to balance stiffness, safety, packaging and manufacturability while providing the structure around which the rest of the vehicle is built. Because so many components depend on the space and mounting points created by the chassis, even relatively small changes can influence other areas of the car. To support the design process, the team uses FEM simulations to study how the chassis responds to forces transferred through the suspension.
These simulations allowed the structural behaviour of the frame to be assessed before manufacturing and helped identify areas that required further attention. It also gave the team a clearer understanding of how forces move through the structure when the car is subjected to different loads.
The relationship between structure and packaging becomes especially clear when the suspension and steering are introduced. Both systems must deliver the required vehicle behaviour while still fitting within the chassis geometry and the limited space available around the driver. For the HRD07, the suspension design was developed with a strong focus on balancing performance with a practical layout. Our decision was to remove the anti-roll bar, reducing the number of components while requiring the suspension itself to provide the necessary balance between stiffness and grip. The positioning of the dampers also had to be considered alongside the chassis geometry, particularly around the front and rear sections of the car. Steering added another set of design considerations. The system has to connect the driver to the front wheels while working within the space created by the chassis, suspension and driver position. The final layout has to satisfy both the required steering behaviour and the physical limitations of the surrounding systems.
A similar challenge appears at the rear of the car with the drivetrain. The HRD07 uses an EMRAX motor together with sprockets, a chain, differential, driveshaft connections and a chain-tensioning system. Packaging these components into a compact assembly required the drivetrain to be developed around the available space within the rear of the vehicle. The position of the motor influences the chain and differential layout, while the drivetrain itself has to remain compatible with the chassis and rear suspension. Several concepts were considered during the development process before the team moved towards the current design. The objective was not simply to create a system capable of transferring power to the wheels, but to create one that could be integrated effectively into the HRD07 as a whole.
The move to an electric vehicle introduces another major system: the accumulator. It must store the energy required to power the car while meeting strict requirements related to safety, packaging, cooling and accessibility. The accumulator container has to accommodate the cell stacks and high voltage components within a limited space. At the same time, the design needs to allow for maintenance and safe access while fitting within the surrounding structure of the vehicle. This makes the accumulator one of the clearest examples of mechanical and electrical engineering meeting within the same system. The mechanical design defines the structure and physical layout, while the electrical side determines how energy is stored, connected and managed safely.
Formula Student regulations play a major role throughout this process. Rather than being treated as a final check, they form part of the design requirements from the beginning. This is particularly important for systems involving braking and high voltage, where safety requirements directly influence the engineering decisions being made. The pedal box brings several of these requirements together at the driver interface. HRD07 combines mechanical braking with electronic throttle control, meaning both mechanical and electrical functions have to operate within the same system. The pedal box became one of the first HRD07 systems to complete the full development route from initial concept and CAD design through review and manufacturing. Reaching the manufacturing stage represented an important milestone because it moved the design from a digital model into a physical component that could be inspected, assembled and eventually integrated into the car.
This transition from digital design to physical hardware is equally important on the electrical side of HRD07. Many of the electrical systems are less visible than the chassis or suspension, but they play an essential role in the operation and safety of the vehicle. Two examples are the Tractive System Active Light and the Brake System Plausibility Device. The TSAL provides a clear visual indication of the state of the vehicle’s high-voltage system. The BSPD monitors braking and throttle signals as part of the car’s safety architecture. Both systems must operate reliably and comply with the requirements set by Formula Student. Developing these systems involves moving from specifications and safety requirements into schematics and printed circuit board designs. The electrical team has also worked on the charger system, selecting an existing charger and developing the surrounding electronics so that it can operate correctly within HRD07. The development of the TSAL included multiple PCB versions as the design was refined and its connection with the wider electrical system became clearer. Several electrical projects have now progressed towards production, with boards being manufactured and testing beginning on selected systems. This stage introduces a different type of engineering challenge. A circuit that works correctly in a schematic must also perform as expected once it becomes physical hardware. Testing therefore becomes an important part of confirming that the design behaves correctly before it is integrated into the vehicle.
The development of HRD07 demonstrates how closely connected the different areas of Formula Student engineering are. Mechanical design, structural analysis, vehicle dynamics, electronics, manufacturing and safety each bring their own requirements, but the real challenge lies in bringing them together within one vehicle. A decision made in one system often influences several others, making communication and integration just as important as the performance of the individual components.
For the Hanze Racing Division, this has been especially significant as HRD07 is our first Formula Student electric vehicle. The project has taken designs from calculations, simulations and CAD models towards manufactured components, physical electronics and system testing. As development continues, the focus increasingly shifts from designing individual parts to validating how those parts perform together as a complete vehicle. HRD07 represents the combined work of multiple engineering disciplines, all working towards the development of a functional and fully integrated Formula Student electric vehicle.
Hanze Racing is supported by the RS Formual Student Fund
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