At the location of our main sponsor EKZ in Dietikon, around 360 sponsors, family members, friends and members of other Formula Student teams gathered to see the new cars for the first time. To begin, the concepts of the two vehicles were presented in a technical presentation. For the first time, the participants learned about the hydraulic suspension, the revised drivetrain and all other innovations in “pilatus”. The challenges the team faced to transform “flüela” into an autonomous vehicle was presented in a comprehensible manner. After the technical presentation the guests were guided to the outside, where the driving demonstration of the new cars was going to take place.

Just three weeks ago the team gathered in the early morning for one of the most important milestones in the development of “pilatus”: The racecar drove for the first time powered by its own motors. Since then, the test team can be found on the test track nearly every day. Successful implementations of subsystems alternate with certain throwbacks, but every driven kilometer increases the cars reliability and speed. It is a pleasure for the whole team to see and feel the progress! The car builds on successful concepts from previous cars and still shows off with numerous innovations. The powertrain has been redesigned and the car features a hydraulic suspension system, that fully decouples the cars’ modes of movement. New packaging solutions allow for an enlarged diffusor which significantly increases downforce.

We would like to thank all the partners who have supported us up until this memorable event. Our solid base of sponsors has once again enabled us to develop a car of the highest standard, implementing innovative new concepts. In addition to the production partners and other service providers, we would also like to thank all the sponsors, who allow us to purchase parts and, in particular, participate in the competitions through generous financial contributions. We would also like to thank the ETH Zurich, especially the Institute of Virtual Production, as well as the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. They support us with an unrivaled infrastructure and equipment, and supply competent supervisors and professors with indepth expertise. We are looking forward to racing “pilatus” at the events in a few months!

For more in-depth info about all the different innovations of "piltaus", read our Newsletter.