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LONGHORN RACING
ELECTRIC
Innovation Driven by Electricity.
Longhorn Racing Electric is one of our student-run Formula SAE teams here on the 40 acres that design, build, and compete with a new formula electric car each year. As one of the most hands-on engineering orgs on campus, our mission is to provide students with applied experience in a fast-paced, collaborative, and innovative environment. Specifically, this team teaches students about effective EV design, high voltage architecture, and technologies on the cutting edge of electrical integration.
As the most recent Longhorn Racing team, we were founded in 2015 and every car since has shown immense growth in our capabilities and ambitions as a team. In 2022, our second car to pass tech inspection placed 7th overall out of 57 teams, 3rd in endurance, and 1st in energy efficiency. Going into the coming year, our priorities are exploring pouch cells along with other possibilities for rear packaging, prioritizing testing and validation as a part of the design cycle, and ensuring that we are facilitating a space for students to explore and grow as both engineers and leaders.
Electric cars are new, exciting, and revolutionizing the automotive industry. We aim to cultivate interest and education in this new technology and provide our members with a unique, cutting-edge experience. Having an electric car team increases the diversity of UT’s chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers by attracting people from a wider variety of technical backgrounds.
Innovation Driven by Electricity.
Longhorn Racing Electric (LHRE) is UT Austin’s student-run Formula SAE Electric team. Each year, we design, manufacture, test, and compete with a formula-style electric racecar built from the ground up. Our work spans the entire vehicle-from a custom high-voltage battery pack, power electronics, controls, and telemetry to aerodynamics, chassis, suspension, and drivetrain. Students take ownership of real engineering projects from initial design and analysis through manufacturing, integration, and on-track validation.
Our most recent car, Orion, marked a major step forward for the team, completing more than 275 miles of testing-more than any previous LHRE car. At the 2026 Formula SAE Electric competition, the team placed 9th out of 84 teams in Cost and improved its Design score from 60 to 105 points. More importantly, hundreds of miles of testing gave us a much stronger understanding of the car and showed us where better data, validation, and system integration can translate directly into performance.
For the 2026-2027 season, we are building on that foundation with one clear goal: a top-five finish at competition. Our focus is on closing the loop between design, testing, data, analysis, and calibration so that every test produces measurable improvements to the car. By combining ambitious engineering with earlier integration, rigorous validation, and strong collaboration across mechanical, electrical, and software systems, we aim to build not only a faster and more reliable racecar, but better engineers and leaders along the way.
