The José Carlos Marques dos Santos auditorium at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) was the stage for the presentation of FS FEUP 02, the first model of a self-driving electric vehicle developed by Formula Student FEUP in time for the main competitions in this area.

After having designed and assembled the FS FEUP 01 in 2023 – a model of an electric racing car driven by a pilot – Formula Student FEUP has dedicated the last two years to the production and manufacture of the FS FEUP 02, the first autonomous driving vehicle, the concept of which has already been widely recognised in the main European competitions in this field.
In front of a packed audience, FEUP Dean, Rui Calçada, took the opening honours at the FS FEUP 02 presentation ceremony, with the head of the Faculty of Engineering emphasising the importance of Formula Student FEUP in preparing these talents. ‘Formula Student is not just a competition; it’s a real training school in a real context. The students apply scientific knowledge, develop technical and management skills, work well in a team, face challenges, fail, and start again. They learn the value of commitment, responsibility and excellence. Commitment, excellence, responsibility and team spirit are also values that we want to cultivate at FEUP. They represent the attitude that trains engineers and citizens, prepared to lead a digital transformation based on sustainability and innovation in the coming decades.’

For his part, Luís Galamba Carvalho, Professor in FEUP’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty Advisor to the team, emphasised the connection between Formula Student’s mission and that of the Faculty of Engineering. ‘Formula Student is a natural extension of the mission of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, which is to train people who rise to the challenge of making the world a better place. Of course, all of this is particularised in individual problems and solutions, all in a more technical aspect, with more or less elegance and innovation. Still, we can encompass all of this in a unique challenge, derived from having a culture of work, talent and vision, as there is at FEUP.’

Formula Student FEUP’s Team Leader, Miguel Damião, says it’s time to show the results of the work done so far. ‘After two years of evolution, learning and work, we’ve reached the moment of truth. It’s time to take to the track. During June, we’ll test the prototype, fine-tune it, correct it, and evolve it. There will be around 300 km of tests to optimise the car manually and autonomously. We want to arrive at the competitions prepared, with an optimised prototype and a united, resilient team ready to overcome any obstacle. Before, it was a dream; today, it’s a reality, and we’re very proud to have got this far. Let’s make this summer something memorable.

Luis Galamba Carvalho (left), Rui Calçada (centre), e Miguel Damião (right).

The presentation Rollout brought together the companies that support the team, institutional partners, family and friends of the FEUP students who created and put together this FS FEUP 02.

Founded in 2021, this is an initiative by students from FEUP’s Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Management, Electrotechnical and Computer Engineering, and Informatics and Computing, which is dedicated to design, manufacture and competition on the track.

FS FEUP 02: Widely awarded prototype

In October 2024, the Formula Student FEUP team travelled to Switzerland, to Formula Student (FS) Switzerland to present the design of this FS FEUP 02, where they won all the competitions they entered: ‘Engineering Design Event’, ‘Cost and Manufacturing Event’ and ‘Business Plan Presentation’, taking first place overall in the competition.

FS UK followed this at the mythical Silverstone racetrack (United Kingdom), which is part of the international Formula 1 circuit, where they won second place overall in the competition, first place in the ‘Cost and Manufacturing Event’ and third place in the ‘Engineering Design Event’.

They ended the season on a high note at Formula Student Castelo Branco, dominating all the events – ‘Engineering Design Event’, ‘Cost and Manufacturing Event’ and ‘Business Plan Presentation’ – and achieving first place in Portugal.