Editing Formula SAE (section)

==History==
[[File:University of Texas at Arlington Mechanical Engineering students (not identified) win First Place trophy with race car and $1,000 (10002858).jpg|thumb|[[University of Texas at Arlington]] Formula SAE car, 1986]]
In 1979 the only SAE Mini-Indy was held at the [[University of Houston]].  Conceived by [[Kurt Marshek|Dr. Kurt M. Marshek]], the competition was inspired by a how-to article that appeared in [[Popular Mechanics]] magazine, for a small, "[[Indy car racing|Indy-style]]" vehicle made out of wood, and powered by a five-horsepower [[Briggs and Stratton]] engine.  Using the [[Mini Baja]] competitions as a guide, engineering students had to design and build small, "Indy-style" vehicles using the same stock engine used in the ''Popular Mechanics'' article. Thirteen schools entered and eleven competed. The University of Texas at El Paso won the overall competition under chief supervision.

Although Dr. William Shapton (who had recently left the [[University of Cincinnati]] to join [[Michigan Technological University]]) broached the idea of hosting a similar competition in 1980, no one stepped up to organize another Mini-Indy.

In 1980 when the members of the new SAE student branch at the University of Texas (Austin) learned that the Mini-Indy had died, they generated the concept for a new intercollegiate student engineering design competition that would allow students to apply what they were learning in the classroom to a complex, real-world engineering design problem: design and development of a race car.  UT SAE student branch members Robert Edwards and John Tellkamp led a discussion among UT SAE members and envisioned a competition that would involve designing and constructing a race car along the lines of the SCCA Formula 440 entry-level racing series that was popular at the time.  Prof. Matthews came up with the “Formula SAE” name following the format of Formula A and Formula Vee but emphasizing that this new race car was an engineering competition rather than a driver's competition.  Schools would meet after the end of the academic year to compete and determine who had built the best car.  Edwards, Tellkamp, and fellow UT SAE students Joe Green, Dick Morton, Mike Best, and Carl Morris drafted a set of safety and competition rules and presented them to the SAE student branch membership and to UT SAE Faculty Advisor Prof. Ron Matthews.  Prof. Matthews then contacted Bob Sechler of the SAE Educational Relations Department at SAE headquarters and asked for his permission both to establish the new intercollegiate student engineering design competition and to host the first Formula SAE competition during the summer of 1981, and he agreed.  The newly formed UT SAE branch, consisting mostly of automotive and motorcycle enthusiasts pursuing engineering degrees, including several who had left careers in fields for which the job market had virtually disappeared due to the depressed economy in the early 1980s – including some experienced auto mechanics, embraced and adopted the concept with little idea of what they were getting themselves into.  SAE student branch officers Mike Best, Carl Morris, and Sylvia Obregon, along with Dr. Matthews began planning and organizing the event to be held the following year.

Here, it is important to note that Formula SAE was NOT a simple renaming of the Mini-Indy competition but was instead an entirely new intercollegiate student engineering design competition.  Unlike all previous SAE-sanctioned student racing/design competitions including Mini-Indy, the Formula SAE rules left the selection of the engine to the design team, as long as a 4 stroke engine with a one-inch diameter intake restrictor was used.  (The current Formula SAE rules allow the teams to use 4-stroke engines up to 710 cc, with a smaller restrictor.)  Also, unlike all previous SAE-sanctioned student racing/design competitions including Mini-Indy, engine modifications were both allowed and encouraged. 
The first Formula SAE competition was held in the parking lot of the UT baseball field (Disch-Falk field) on the University of Texas campus on Memorial Day weekend, 1981.  Judges included legendary race car engineer/owner/driver and Indy 500 champion Jim Hall. While a sudden Texas rain storm sent everyone scrambling for cover just before the endurance event that day, the weather failed to dampen the spirits of the students, judges, or spectators and Formula SAE was born.  
The University of Texas continued to host the event from 1982 to 1984 as the popularity and number of participants grew.  In these subsequent years, UT moved the Formula SAE competition to other parking areas that included elevation changes and driveway aprons that forced the use of functioning suspensions.  The event became international in 1982 with the entry of Universidad La Salle team from Mexico City.  The significant rules changes for 1982 were: 1) a displacement limit of 600 cc (300 cc for Wankels), but the 1 inch diameter restrictor rule was retained, 2) a requirement for 4-wheel independent suspension (Mini-Indy did not have any suspension rules), and 3) the addition of a temporary “B&S” class of vehicles that were originally designed for Mini-Baja, had to retain the 8&nbsp;hp Briggs & Stratton engine, and did not need to comply with the 4-wheel independent suspension rule.  Formula SAE continued to be an international competition when the team from Universidad La Salle returned.  With the only engine restrictions being a displacement limit of 600 cc and a 1-inch maximum diameter for the intake, creativity flourished.  Also in 1983, the temporary B&S class was eliminated, the University of Texas at Austin entered the first composite Formula SAE vehicle and Marquette University entered the first turbocharged engine.  The rules allowed a Formula SAE car to compete for two years in recognition of the effort required to build and test a quality car.  This also allowed students the experience of re-engineering and improving on design elements that did not work.  The rules for 1984 specifically allowed turbochargers, superchargers, and use of nitrous oxide but the engine had to breathe through a 25.4&nbsp;mm exit bore of the carburetor casting (1984 was well before electronic fuel injection).  Engine intake restrictors were later tightened as cars became faster year over year as knowledge was passed on within and between teams.  Also, a 65-100 inch wheelbase rule was promulgated, as was a rule requiring all vehicles to have a “body that resembles a formula car”.  The Formula SAE field had grown to eleven cars in 1984, so the University of Texas at Austin decided that the competition had matured sufficiently that it was safe to pass it on to other hosts.

The University of Texas at Austin hosted the competition through 1984. In 1985, the competition was hosted by The [[University of Texas at Arlington]]. There, Dr. Robert Woods, with guidance from the SAE student activities committee, changed the concept of the competition from one where students built a pure racing car, to one that mirrored the SAE Mini-Baja competitions, where they were to design and build a vehicle for limited series production.

General Motors hosted the competition in 1991, Ford Motor Co. in 1992, and Chrysler Corp. in 1993. After the 1992 competition, the three formed a consortium to run Formula SAE.

At the end of the 2008 competition, the consortium ceased to exist.  The event is now funded by SAE through company sponsorships and donations along with the teams' enrollment fees.