Highlander Racing

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE

THIS IS
HIGHLANDER
RACING.

We are UC Riverside’s Formula SAE Electric team.
We design and build a Formula-style race car from scratch.

Join the team ↗Explore HR27-E →
OUR NEXT CARHR27-EElectric Formula SAE · In development
SCROLL TO EXPLORE ↓01 / HIGHLANDER RACING
DESIGN./BUILD./RACE.UCR FORMULA SAE ELECTRIC
01 — WHAT IS FSAE?STUDENT ENGINEERING. REAL COMPETITION.

FORMULA SAE, EXPLAINED

Design a car.
Prove it on track.

Formula SAE is an international collegiate engineering competition organized by SAE International. Students design, build, and test a small, open-wheel race car.

Teams are judged on engineering design, cost, and presentation, then demonstrate performance through acceleration, handling, endurance, and efficiency events. Highlander Racing competes in the Electric class.

About Formula SAE ↗Official rules & resources ↗
02 — OUR CARSENGINEERED AT UCR

EVERY CAR, A NEW CHAPTER

An evolving legacy.

From HR27-E in development to the cars
that built our engineering foundation.

HR27-E in development; vehicle images coming soonIN DEVELOPMENT
ELECTRIC / IN DEVELOPMENT

HR27-E

Highlander Racing’s next electric Formula SAE car is in development. Follow the next chapter as we share its design, systems, and progress.

PROGRAMFormula SAE
STATUSIn development
Explore this car ↗
EXPLORE THE ARCHIVE
03 — ABOUT THE TEAMRIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA

MORE THAN A RACE CAR

Classroom theory.
Real-world momentum.

We’re a student team turning engineering knowledge into something you can hear, see, and drive.

Highlander Racing designs, manufactures, and races formula-style cars through Formula SAE. Every vehicle brings together the challenges of engineering, finance, manufacturing, and teamwork.

Our mission is to build practical skills, lasting industry relationships, and a strong alumni network. Our vision is to keep advancing our electric platform, improve reliability and performance, and work toward autonomous racing.

Join the team ↗
Highlander Racing students gathered with their race car on the UCR campus
ONE TEAM. SHARED AMBITION.UCR / FSAE

13 SUBTEAMS. ONE CAR.

Meet the subteams.

Explore Mechanical, Electrical / Software, and Business. Hover or focus for a quick summary. On mobile, scroll a card to the center of your screen. Click or tap for more info and projects.

Mechanical

10 SUBTEAMS

Electrical / Software

02 SUBTEAMS

Business

01 SUBTEAMS
Highlander Racing students gathered on the UCR campus

THE WORK THAT SUPPORTS THE BUILD

Business keeps the program moving.

Manage finances, marketing, outreach, sponsor relationships, and the competition’s business presentation.


Join the Business subteam ↗
See how the subteams work together.The team in action ↓
04 — TEAM IN ACTIONDESIGN. BUILD. RACE.

BUILT BY HIGHLANDERS

Our ideas.
Our hands.
Our car.

A look at what we build.

Workshop nights, designs taking shape, and moments at competition. This is Highlander Racing in action.

Highlander Racing student fabricating metal in the workshop with sparks flying

Made with our own hands.

Turning drawings into real hardware, one workshop session at a time.

Highlander Racing student welding a steel frame in the workshop

Built through dedication.

Careful preparation. Hands-on fabrication. A car that takes shape together.

Highlander Racing electric car with an exposed blue chassis on campus in September 2026

Our work, out in the open.

A closer look at the car on campus. September 2026.

Highlander Racing students gathered at the UCR team booth in September 2026

One team. Shared ambition.

The people behind Highlander Racing, together on campus. September 2026.

05 — SPONSORSPROGRESS IS A TEAM EFFORT

BACKING THE NEXT GENERATION

Built with your support.

Partner with us ↗

Industry partners help turn our designs into real cars, through tools, materials, expertise, and financial support. Together, we connect student engineers with the challenges of the real world.

Thank you to the partners supporting Highlander Racing.Let’s build something together →

06 — JOIN THE TEAM

There’s a place for
your ambition.

Bring your curiosity. Develop your skills.
Help build the next Highlander Racing car.

Join the team ↗Join our Discord ↗
Highlander Racing team with their electric car at Formula SAE
07 — CONTACT USLET’S BUILD A CONNECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Contact us.

Interested in supporting the team, collaborating on a project, or learning more about Highlander Racing? We’d love to hear from you.

Send us a message

General inquiries, sponsorships, and partnerships — all in one place.

FIND US

University of California, Riverside
3401 Watkins Drive · ATTN. Richard Bain
Riverside, CA 92507

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PROGRAM

Meet our leads & admin.

Meet the people coordinating Highlander Racing and its subteams. Meet our administration, subteam leads, and systems members.

The officers supporting the Highlander Racing program.

Tatyana Nava

President

Tatyana Nava

Ignacio Velazquez

Vice President

Ignacio Velazquez

Alex Cameron

Mechanical Technical Director

Alex Cameron

Eric Gao

Electrical Technical Director

Eric Gao
Archived airflow visualization around a Highlander Racing car

Mechanical

Aerodynamics

About the subteam

The aerodynamics team is responsible for designing, analyzing, and validating the vehicle's aerodynamics package to maximize performance on the track. Components of the package include a front and rear wing. The aero is designed to help increase downforce, improve cornering grip, reduce drag, and maintain vehicle stability. This subteam works most closely with composites, vehicle dynamics, and chassis to ensure components are integrated effectively while meeting competition requirements.

SoftwareSolidworks,Ansys, and XFLR5.

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived Highlander Racing accumulator rendering

Mechanical

Battery

About the subteam

The battery system is the heart of the vehicle. It powers our tractive and drive systems to get the car running. We are responsible for designing a fully custom battery from the top down. This includes custom Li-Ion subpacks, lightweight container, and an efficient tractive system to meet the design and performance goals of the overall vehicle. The battery system is incredibly multidisciplinary, requiring both extensive mechanical and electrical knowledge. This year's battery weighs 38kg and has a 300V 250A architecture, totaling 75kW of power with 6kwH of capacity. The battery team utilizes mechanical, electrical, and thermal engineering knowledge to design the most efficient subsystem.

SoftwareSolidworks,Excel, Ansys

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived wheel assembly rendering showing brake hardware

Mechanical

Brakes

About the subteam

The brakes subteam is responsible for developing the vehicle's braking system to ensure safe, reliable, and consistent stopping performance. The team develops components such as rotors, brake line routings, pedal assembly, master cylinders, pads, and mounting hardware while ensuring rules compliance. Members perform calculations, tests, and simulations to determine braking forces, brake bias, heat generation and more. The Brakes team works closely with suspension and driver interfaces to ensure proper integration to the vehicle.

SoftwareSolidworks, Ansys, Matlab

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived Highlander Racing spaceframe design

Mechanical

Chassis

About the subteam

The chassis subsystem designs, validates, and manufactures a tube-steel frame integrating all major components of the car and meets the vehicle's global performance targets. The team works closely with other subteams to package the driver, suspension, drivetrain, and accumulator safely and efficiently within the frame. Members use SolidWorks for modeling, ANSYS Mechanical for FEA validation, and 3D-printed jigs for fixturing during fabrication. The final frame is built from TIG-welded 4130 chromoly steel, balancing strength, stiffness, weight, and manufacturability.

SoftwareSolidWorks, Ansys

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived race car side-view rendering with aerodynamic bodywork

Mechanical

Composites

About the subteam

The Composites subteam manufactures the molds and carbon fiber parts for the aerodynamics package and body. This subteam primarily works with carbon fiber and epoxy resin to create parts that maximize strength and stiffness while minimizing weight. Composites produce the body panels, nose cone, front, rear wings, and more. Team members are involved in the full manufacturing process, including the mold design, layup schedules, vacuum bagging, trimming, and quality inspection. The composites subteam works closely with the Aerodynamics and Chassis subteams to integrate parts effectively while maintaining performance, reliability, rules compliance, and manufacturability.

SoftwareSolidworks

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived car airflow visualization

Mechanical

Cooling

About the subteam

The cooling subteam is responsible for designing and optimizing the vehicle’s thermal management systems to ensure critical components operate within safe temperature ranges during competition. This includes developing a pumped liquid cooling loop that pulls heat from the motor and inverter and rejects it through radiators. The cooling subteam integrates a student-designed cooling loop with radiators, fans, and pumps to maximize heat dissipation while minimizing weight and electrical power draw. Members use thermofluid hand-calculations, thermal simulations, and physical testing to evaluate system performance. Cooling works most closely with Drivetrain and Battery to effectively integrate the cooling system into the vehicle package while complying with competition regulations.

SoftwareSolidworks, Ansys, Matlab, OptimumLap

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived Highlander Racing steering system rendering

Mechanical

Driver Interfaces

About the subteam

The Driver Interfaces subteam focuses on the ergonomics of the car. This team is responsible for designing and optimizing all systems and components that the driver interacts with. Their primary goal is to ensure the driver can safely, comfortably, and effectively control the car while receiving critical information during testing and competition. Driver Interfaces is responsible for components such as the steering wheel, seat positioning, harness integration, and the physical design of the dashboard. These components are designed to fit a range of drivers from the 5th percentile female to the 95th percentile male. This subteam works closely with the chassis subteam to ensure rules compliance and proper integration needs are met.

SoftwareSolidworks

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived Highlander Racing drivetrain rendering

Mechanical

Drivetrain

About the subteam

The drivetrain subteam is responsible for designing a transmission system that transmits power from the motor to the wheels. This subteam focuses on making the car as fast as possible, optimizing the car for both acceleration and overall lap times. Drivetrain is a mechanical subteam and is very heavy in part design, although a bit of electrical knowledge is helpful for wiring and testing the motor. Drivetrain is responsible for everything in between the motor and differential. They use Solidworks, simulations, and testing to ensure drivetrain components can withstand the high torque while remaining lightweight and reliable. This subteam works closely with chassis, cooling, and battery.

SoftwareSolidworks, Ansys, Matlab, Optimum Lap

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived suspension and wheel assembly rendering

Mechanical

Suspension

About the subteam

The suspension subteam designs and builds the systems that connect the wheels to the chassis, helping the car maintain grip, handle predictably, and respond to driver input. We develop control arms, pushrods, tie rods, uprights, hubs, and steering components, balancing strength, weight, and manufacturability. Using SolidWorks, Ansys, and MATLAB, we model assemblies, analyze component strength, and perform engineering calculations. We work closely with vehicle dynamics, brakes, and chassis to integrate the suspension into the overall vehicle.

SoftwareSolidWorks, Ansys, MATLAB

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived chassis and suspension rendering showing the complete vehicle layout

Mechanical

Vehicle Dynamics

About the subteam

The Vehicle Dynamics subteam designs the car's handling and performance by developing the vehicle's parameters and suspension geometry. In order to validate our design decisions, our subteam creates vehicle, tire, and control models to run simulations, which are physically tested to validate our models and improve on-track performance. This subteam works closely with aerodynamics, brakes, chassis, drivetrain, and suspension to ensure their parts are designed in accordance with the established performance targets.

SoftwareMatlab, Simulink, Optimum Lap, Solidworks, Excel

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Archived custom Highlander Racing circuit board

Electrical / Software

Electrical Engineering (EE)

About the subteam

The Electrical Engineering (EE) team designs the electrical systems that power, control, and monitor the car, including power distribution, control, and data acquisition. Our work centers on custom printed circuit boards (PCBs) that deliver electrical power safely and efficiently to every vehicle system while meeting FSAE EV rules. Members take part in the entire hardware design process, from prototyping in SPICE and designing PCBs in Altium Designer to soldering, testing, and final integration. We work closely with other subteams, such as Battery and Computer Science, and our hands-on projects let members apply concepts from class, pick up new technical knowledge, and build industry-standard skills.

SoftwareAltium, LTspice, Rapid Harness

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Illustrative coding workstation with vehicle firmware in a code editor

Electrical / Software

Computer Science (CS)

About the subteam

The Computer Science (CS) subteam develops the firmware and software that control the vehicle, monitor its health, and keep it compliant with competition rules. This subteam programs the custom electronics on the car, including the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), the Data Acquisition (DAQ) system, Battery Management System (BMS), and the driver dashboard. Members write embedded C/C++ code for Teensy and ESP32 microcontrollers that communicate on multiple industry standard protocols such as CAN, UART, I2C, and SPI. They also build data logging and diagnostic tools and use multiple hardware and software debugging methods to test and validate code on real hardware. CS works closely with the Electrical, Battery, and Drivetrain subteams to make sure firmware integrates reliably with the car's hardware while maintaining safety, performance, and rules compliance.

SoftwareVSCode, PlatformIO, ArduinoIDE, Altium 360

SkillsC/C++/Python, Git, Embedded Programming and Circuit Building

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗
Highlander Racing students gathered on the UCR campus

Business

Business

About the subteam

The business subteam is responsible for everything aside from designing and manufacturing the car. We oversee the finances, outreach, marketing, and sponsor relations. This includes tasks such as tracking purchases, designing merchandise, managing social media, and interacting with sponsors. Additionally, we manage the business competition and cost scenario portion of the competition. The business presentation event challenges teams to develop and pitch a realistic business case for our car, demonstrating engineering, financial, marketing, and production viability to a panel of judges acting as potential investors or manufacturers.

SoftwareExcel, Google Sheets, Canva, Adobe

Projects

Project details coming soon.

Join the team ↗