ORCA, the country's fastest sports car, was made by a team of more than 75 students from the IIT Bombay who spent nine months designing it. The car made its maiden voyage on Sunday at the campus auditorium and was sponsored by Tata Motors, NRB Bearings, CEAT Tyres and others.
"With an acceleration of 0-100 km/h in 3.47 seconds, ORCA is faster than any other sports car made by Porsche, Tesla or Audi. Not only is its acceleration record-breaking, but it is also the first time we have a special steel-frame chassis with a carbon-fiber manufactured body, which not only reduces the weight but also stabilizes the car at high speeds," said Rishabh Kappasia, a 4th-year student of Engineering Physics at the IIT Bombay and Team ORCA's leader.
"The car is awesome to drive thanks to its light weight, and its stability increases at high speeds," added Manthan Mahajan, another 4th-year student who is Team ORCA's driver at competitions.
The car will represent India at Formula Student UK, an annual car competition among similar models developed by over 100 student teams from around the world, where the best cars are judged on the basis of several parameters like engineering and presentation skills. The IIT Bombay team has been participating in the contest over the past five years, becoming the only team to receive the award for design improvement for three consecutive years.