Feature: Ecurie Aix RWTH Aachen
At Evodays HQ we are lucky to have 3 university Formula Student/FSAE teams within a 60km range. To make things interesting, our 3 local teams also represent 3 different countries: Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.
This is great for us as it means we are able to closely follow the progress of each of these teams throughout the calendar year, including design, build, and the finished car as they head off to compete in the various Formula Student/FSAE competitions around the world.
As it’s December and the German Christmas markets are out, I decided to catch up with Ecurie Aix, from RWTH Aachen to learn more about their stunning car “05 Berna,” which was built for the 2016 competitive year.
The team was founded by a group of RWTH Aachen students in 1999 and named Ecurie Aix to honour the motorsport history of the region. Being close to Spa-Francorchamps, they took their inspiration from the Formula 1 team Ecurie Francorchamps (Eurie meaning “Racing” in French) and Aix-la Chappelle (the French name for Aachen).
Ecurie Aix built their first electric car in 2010, then again in 2014. They do have a nice archive of previous cars in their workshop, although they explain that some are missing as they are on loan to sponsors. The design concept of their vehicles flows nicely from year to year, with deliberate, careful evolution. These are beautifully engineered cars and extremely aesthetically pleasing.
I spoke to Andreas Kociok, Trackside Operations to find out everything an engineer would want to know about the car:
Chassis:
Single piece CFRP Sandwich Structure, Rohacell and aluminum honeycomb core structure
Prepeg lamination process
Aluminium honeycomb crash structure
Suspension:
Wheelbase: 1530mm
Track width: 1250mm (front); 1200mm (rear)
Front and rear anti roll bar
Double a-arm suspension, push rod system
Tyre: Hoosier R25B 18,0 x 7,5-10
In-house developed CFRP rims
Drivetrain:
Motor: 4 AMK wheel hub motors running up to 20.000 U/min
Torque: 4 x 22 Nm
Max. power: 4 x 33 KW
Nominal battery voltage: 600 V
Cooling system: Water cooling
Gear ratio: 1:14,152
Transmission : 4 x 1,5-ary planetary transmissions
Electronics:
Display: LED-Display
Vehicle control unit: ETAS 910ES
Data logger: Vector GL1100
Live-Telemetry System
In house developed battery management system
Aerodynamics:
Complete aerodynamic package
Integrated cooling system
Aerodynamically optimized monocoque and bodywork
You can find out more about Ecurie Aix on their website or by following them on social media:
Author: Beth Lily Georgiou
Follow: @BethLilyRace
Evodays 
Its really nice to see that the teams are progressing so much when it comes to designing car interior as well as as exterior parts.
Competing around the world is seriously a very big deal and hats off for that.
Good luck for your future 🙂
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