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Formula SAE Michigan 2027
May 12–15, 2027, at Michigan International Speedway. Here is what lies ahead.
An engineering education competition. Teams of university students conceive, design, fabricate, develop and compete with a small formula-style car.
Each team works like an engineering firm building a prototype. Besides performance, aesthetics, cost, ergonomics, maintainability and manufacturability all count.
Rules GR.1.2 · GR.1.3 · GR.1.4The rules for each car depend on its powertrain.
Car 80 · Honda 500 cc
They are split between static and dynamic events. Tap an event to see what it is about.
Off the track, in front of judges. Rule S.1
The team presents a business, logistics, production or technical case to convince outside investors. Judges come from different fields and are not all engineers.
Rules S.2.1 · S.2.2.5Judges the budget and how the car would be produced. The team submits a report that lists and costs every part, then discusses it with the judges at the car.
Rules S.3.1 · S.3.4.1Judges review the engineering effort and how well the team understands its design. Teams lose points if they cannot explain how the car was engineered and built.
Rules S.4.1 · S.4.9.1On track, against the clock. Rule D.1.1
A 75 m straight on flat pavement. Each team gets up to four runs with two drivers.
Rules D.9.1.1 · D.9.2.1A figure eight made of two pairs of circles; the inner ones are 15.25 m across. It measures how the car corners on a constant radius.
Rules D.10.1.1 · D.10.2.3A tight course of about 0.8 km with turns, slaloms and hairpins, averaging 40 to 48 km/h. Its results set the Endurance run order.
Rules D.11.1.1 · D.12.3.1About 22 km of laps with two drivers and a driver change halfway. It tests performance, durability and reliability: once it starts, no one may work on the car.
Rules D.12.1.3 · D.12.1.4 · D.12.2.1Measures the fuel the car uses during Endurance, together with its lap time.
Rules D.13 · D.13.1.1Without passing technical inspection, the car cannot enter any dynamic event. Rules IN.1.1 · IN.3.1
Each driver's gear, fire extinguishers and wet tires.
Rule IN.4Cockpit templates and the egress test: each driver gets out in 5 seconds or less.
Rules IN.6 · IN.9.2.1At 45° no fluid may leak. At 60° the car must not roll over.
Rule IN.11.2110 dBC maximum, 103 dBC at idle.
Rule IN.12.5At the end of an acceleration run, all four wheels lock and the engine keeps running.
Rule IN.14.2.2What the rules ask of the team.
Students conceive, design, build and maintain the car. Professionals may share information but may not make design decisions or drawings.
Rules GR.9.1.1 · GR.9.1.3Every member is enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree at their university. Those who graduated in the previous seven months may still take part.
Rules AD.3.1.1 · AD.3.1.2All team members must be at least 18 years old.
Rule AD.3.2Anyone who drives needs a valid, government-issued driver's license.
Rule AD.3.3Each driver may run at most three events, so four are needed to cover every dynamic event.
Rule D.7.1Appointed by the university. The advisor may give advice but may not design, build or repair the car.
Rules AD.5.1.1 · AD.5.1.3Only first-year vehicles, with a newly built chassis, may compete.
Rules GR.9.2.2 · GR.9.3.1Every member belongs to SAE International and shows proof at registration.
Rule AD.3.4English is the official language of the series: documents, presentations and talks with judges.
Rule AD.1.3Formula SAE® Rules 2027. Version 1.0, 1 September 2026. SAE International.
Every fact on this page comes from the official rules, with its rule number. The rules can change; the current version is on the Formula SAE website.
Go to fsaeonline.com (opens in a new tab)
From May 12 to 15, 2027, we take car 80 to Michigan International Speedway. Costa Rican engineering, built by students.
