The Formula SAE competition is organized yearly by the Society of Automotive Engineers, a nationally recognized organization for those in academia and the automotive industry. Participating in the Formula SAE competition provides the opportunity for university students to conceive, design, and construct an open-cockpit, open-wheeled racecar similar to those in Formula One races. However, in addition to competing in a race setting, the car is professionally judged on its holistic design, construction, cost-effectiveness, and marketability. It is not only a race, but also a competition in project management involving timelines, budgeting, marketing, and, of course, engineering creativity.

In 2004, a handful of motivated Stanford students envisioned starting a Formula Racing Team at the University. On-campus publicity attracted many students' attention, and the group grew into the enthusiastic combination of engineers and economists it is today, bringing the founders' dreams to fruition. In early 2005, as eager as ever to build a Formula racecar from the ground up, Stanford's first Formula SAE Team was officially recognized. Currently, our team consists of fifteen dedicated, driven individuals with diverse backgrounds, all of whom share the goal of designing, constructing, and competing in and with a racecar they can call their own. As Stanford's first Formula Racing Team we are confident that we will succeed in building a racecar, and that we will provide a strong foundation for future teams.

Formula SAE cars are open-wheel and open-cockpit racecars. They measure between six and eight feet long and are roughly four to six feet wide. The average dry weight of such cars is approximately 500 pounds. Most are powered by motorcycle engines, which are limited through competition rules to a maximum output of 90 horsepower. Although capable of highway speeds, the competition speed limit is 50 mph. The cars can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in under four seconds.

Over the course of the next nine months, a combination of Stanford undergraduate and graduate students will design and build a Formula racecar from the ground up. During the design phase, we are focused primarily on creating computer models of the car and analyzing the car's performance using software tools. This phase also involves creating a full-scale mockup of the car using PVC tubing. Team members will work on the car's design on their own time during the year, and having completed the majority of design work come summer, we will manufacture and build the car in the Product Realization Laboratory at Stanford. Upon completion, the car undergoes basic, low-speed functionality testing on-campus and will be put through more rigorous testing at off-campus facilities. The engine's torque and horsepower will be tested using a dynamometer and the car will be put through its paces at race-speeds on Moffett Field's airstrip.