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Best Technology and Design: Brno University wins “Opel Style Award”

The German round of the Formula Student race series at the Hockenheimring (August 9-14) attracted a large field of 113 contenders. The competition for the coveted Opel Style Award was correspondingly intense and the prize for the best total package of engineering and design, inaugurated last year by series partner and main sponsor, Opel, was won by the Brno University Racing Team from the Czech Republic.

“Within the tight confinements of the Formula Student regulations, the Brno University Racing Team with their Dragon 6 car have achieved the rare accomplishment of designing a racing car that harmonizes high technical efficiency with attractive design”, said Opel’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Europe, William F. Bertagni, during the prize-giving. “These students are precisely the kind of future talents we want to see at Opel.”

The entries for the Opel Style Award were evaluated by a jury consisting of Friedhelm Engler, Director Advanced Design, Richard Shaw, Chief Designer Creative Design, Frank Starz, Assistant Chief Designer Creative Design, and Sven Weinfurtner, Assistant Chief Designer Midsize Interior. In addition to the award, Opel also presented the winning Brno students with a new Opel Astra equipped as team vehicle for a complete season of Formula Student racing.

Overall the Opel-sponsored teams at Hockenheim scored several wins and top placings. The KIT team from Karlsruhe claimed overall victory in the category for electric cars, while Stuttgart University finished a strong second in the large field of cars powered by internal combustion engines. The transatlantic Ravensburg-Corvallis team pulled off an excellent double with victory for both electric and combustion engine cars in the Business Plan presentation. In the demanding skid-pad test, the Karlsruhe students achieved another double, with Darmstadt University finishing an excellent second in the category for electric cars. The Opel sponsored teams also staged a strong challenge for the prizes offered by other sponsors with Deggendorf, for example, taking the Porsche Innovation Award.

For the first time the main Formula Student sponsors also offered deep-dive workshops for the competitors. The Opel workshop focused on the subject matter of the Opel Style Award and gave valuable, useful tips for design and packaging. The large number of 30 participating teams demonstrated the high interest in the material delivered by Friedhelm Engler and his designer colleagues.

In the Formula Student competition, students are responsible for the entire process chain, just like automobile manufacturers. The teams must build a prototype by themselves and submit plans for costs, production, marketing and sales. All those who clear this scrutineering hurdle then face tough tests of acceleration, braking, handling and endurance.

As main sponsor of Formula Student, Opel continues to intensify its activities dedicated to promoting young engineers. This season Opel is supporting three additional student racing teams. These are the teams from Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Ravensburg, who secured their collaboration with Opel through their outstanding results in previous years. The number of German teams currently backed by Opel has thus increased to nine universities.

Opel’s head of engineering, Williams Bertagni, presents the first prize for the Opel Style Award – a new Astra – to the winning team from Brno in the Czech Republic.