RoseGPE Competes First-Ever Electric Vehicle at FSAE Competition
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
RoseGPE successfully transitioned from building an internal combustion engine to building an electric vehicle for the first time this year, passing nearly all levels of technical inspection.
Rose-Hulman's Grand Prix Engineering (RoseGPE) team is racing with the electric thrill of innovation after the 2026 Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) competition at the Michigan International Speedway earlier this summer. For the first time ever, RoseGPE designed and built a race vehicle with an electric battery, reconfiguring and reconstructing their processes to learn more about electric automotives.
Transitioning from an internal combustion engine to an electric car was a nearly two-year process, fueled by team members' dedication and interdisciplinary collaboration. Their efforts powered them forward, and RoseGPE successfully passed nearly all levels of inspection at the competition — a rare feat for a first-year electric team.
"Technical Inspection is the most rigorous part of the competition," said Jimmy Xin, a junior mechanical engineering major who serves as RoseGPE's drivetrain lead. "Subject Matter Experts scrutinize almost every aspect of your car to ensure it complies with the rules and safety regulations. The vast majority of teams do not pass all six stages of technical inspection."
The team's early success in the Technical Inspection paves the way for qualifying for the FSAE's Dynamic Events next year, allowing them to race the electric vehicle for the first time.
RoseGPE also competed in the Static Events at this year's competition, pitching their car concept, design decisions, and cost estimates to a panel of judges.
"FSAE as a whole is a very rewarding competition," said Eric Soo-Yoshimura, a 2026 computer engineering graduate and the former powertrain lead for RoseGPE. "It gives you practical experience in your chosen engineering field and is a great way to showcase your skills to future employers!"
Careers in the automotive industry are a natural next lap for RoseGPE members. As alumni have crossed the finish line at Rose-Hulman, they have raced toward companies including the Atlassian Williams Formula 1 team, the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, Tesla, Honda, Lucid, Texas Instruments, and Rolls Royce. Through countless hours spent designing and machining in the Branam Innovation Center, RoseGPE students and alumni gain a deep understanding of every subsystem constituting their vehicle.
"The coolest part of GPE is that we design and manufacture almost everything in-house, from the chassis to the battery pack and everything in between," said Xin. "There is a lot of very cool skills you can learn from high voltage design, Finite Element Analysis, vehicle dynamics, and many more that are heavily valued in industry."
Transitioning from an internal combustion engine to an electric car was a nearly two-year process, fueled by team members' dedication and interdisciplinary collaboration. Their efforts powered them forward, and RoseGPE successfully passed nearly all levels of inspection at the competition — a rare feat for a first-year electric team.
"Technical Inspection is the most rigorous part of the competition," said Jimmy Xin, a junior mechanical engineering major who serves as RoseGPE's drivetrain lead. "Subject Matter Experts scrutinize almost every aspect of your car to ensure it complies with the rules and safety regulations. The vast majority of teams do not pass all six stages of technical inspection."
The team's early success in the Technical Inspection paves the way for qualifying for the FSAE's Dynamic Events next year, allowing them to race the electric vehicle for the first time.
RoseGPE also competed in the Static Events at this year's competition, pitching their car concept, design decisions, and cost estimates to a panel of judges.
"FSAE as a whole is a very rewarding competition," said Eric Soo-Yoshimura, a 2026 computer engineering graduate and the former powertrain lead for RoseGPE. "It gives you practical experience in your chosen engineering field and is a great way to showcase your skills to future employers!"
Careers in the automotive industry are a natural next lap for RoseGPE members. As alumni have crossed the finish line at Rose-Hulman, they have raced toward companies including the Atlassian Williams Formula 1 team, the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, Tesla, Honda, Lucid, Texas Instruments, and Rolls Royce. Through countless hours spent designing and machining in the Branam Innovation Center, RoseGPE students and alumni gain a deep understanding of every subsystem constituting their vehicle.
"The coolest part of GPE is that we design and manufacture almost everything in-house, from the chassis to the battery pack and everything in between," said Xin. "There is a lot of very cool skills you can learn from high voltage design, Finite Element Analysis, vehicle dynamics, and many more that are heavily valued in industry."