A group of students at MAST @ FIU have built their own race car. Except this car doesn't run on gas. Instead, it runs on a pair of twelve bolt batteries.
MAST is one of ten schools in the Greater South Florida area going head to head with their own cars for Saturday's Miami ePrix.
In a press release earlier this month, Florida Power and Light announced that they would be sponsoring students from schools throughout its service area who are involved in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs by providing the tools needed to assemble 10 electric kit cars for the Miami ePrix race.
On Saturday, the student teams - including MAST @ FIU - will compete in the Formula E School Series, racing on the same track as the Miami ePrix, vying for a grand prize of $5,000.
All prizes will go to further the STEM or robotics initiatives of the winning school teams.
MAST student Clifton Lawrence and his pit crew of MAST classmates built their car with the help of a company from the United Kingdom that focuses on green energy.
The man behind the wheel for MAST, Ryan Saidi, admitted he's a bit nervous for Saturday's competition.
"There’s a $5,000 prize at the end and I don’t want to miss it," Saidi said.
The Miami ePrix race isn't all about bragging rights and prizes. Rather, it's an amazing learning experience for the students.
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“I learned about wiring I didn’t anything about negatives and positives,” said student Anthony Flores.
“I just learned about to fix up a car and the name of tools and stuff better,” Lawrence added.
The Miami ePrix is part of the FIA Formula E Championship, the world's first fully electric racing series. Formula E hosts races in 10 cities around the world, including London, Beijing, Monaco and Buenos Aires.
Saturday's Miami ePrix will be the first Formula E race in the United States.
