Building a better race car every year – that is the declared goal of the HofSpannung Motorsport e.V. association at Hof University. Students from a wide range of disciplines invest a lot of heart and soul and free time in order to be competitive with their vehicles in the international “Formula Student” racing series. Now, the next-generation car has been presented as part of a lavish show at the Digital Founders Center Einstein1. “Clyde” – the name of the vehicle – features many improvements compared to the previous model.
Accompanied by fog and light show, the team of the association “HofSpannung e.V.”, which now has almost 30 members, presented the work of 3 years and impressed the approximately 100 guests in the Digital Founders Center Einstein1 with many innovations. Among other things, a complete package for improving aerodynamics was installed in the new race car.
Enormous voluntary commitment honored
Dr. Jens Löbus, managing director of Einstein1, university president Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.. Jürgen Lehmann as well as the technical advisors Prof. Matthias Kilian and Dr. Andy Gradel praised in their welcoming speeches the extraordinary commitment of the students who, in addition to their actual studies, advance the HofSpannung project year after year
Technical innovation in many places
In an interview by moderator Talea Schmidt with the technical directors of the current and previous seasons, the biggest innovations on the new vehicle were then explained. Timo Meyer, former 1st Executive Board member and former head of the electronics team, reported not only on a specially developed battery management system that monitors the cells of the vehicle’s battery, but also on an optimized microcontroller architecture that collects data in the vehicle and can be equipped with variable controllers. Niklas Kurth, current head of the electric team, explained to the audience the concept of the new modular wiring harness, which facilitates maintenance and also enables rapid technical upgrades.
All vehicle parts manufactured in-house
“The chassis has also been completely redesigned on “Clyde” and rethought as a hybrid system made of carbon fiber composite and high-strength aluminum,” said 2nd board member and technical director Johannes Dietrich. He is also the one who had developed and advanced the first complete aero package with front, side and rear wings, as well as underbody and diffuser. At the presentation, he particularly emphasized that all parts of the package were manufactured in-house.
Former Technical Director Simon Kolb also pointed out the many minor optimizations made to the car, such as the improved adjustability of the suspension or transmission play.
The commercial department of the club also had its say: Christian Kießling, 2nd board member of last season, went into detail about the many organizational challenges in the club, which were recently also strongly influenced by Pandemic and Lockdown. Lea Schmidt, chairwoman of the club, who is also the commercial director of the 100-member club, emphasized the enormous time challenge that such a complex project poses for the students.
Lean form inspires
An impressive video, which highlighted the creation of the new vehicle in fast forward, then introduced the highlight of the event: With music, fog and a light show, the team leaders unveiled the “Clyde” vehicle on behalf of their team. The sleek shape, aero package and pink accents typical of the club visibly impressed the audience. Lea Schmidt, who led through the evening, finally closed the official part of the “roll-out” with a big thank you to the sponsors and supporters of the project, some of whom have been accompanying and supporting the association for many years. The Hof University of Applied Sciences was also warmly thanked for the many opportunities that have been created for the association
First race in Italy
Exhibited old vehicles show the enormous development of the association in the last years at the following buffet. The new vehicle is to take part in a first international competition in Italy in the summer as part of the “Formula Student”.
