AGH Racing premiers new electric car

On 15 June 2026, the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków hosted the launch of AGH Racing's new electric racing car, RTE 3.5.

The event was attended by representatives of the AGH University of Krakow, a large number of guests from the scientific community, and the team's sponsors and business partners. The official debut of the racing car provided an opportunity to take a look at months' worth of work by the club members, supervisors and partners supporting the club's activities.

The meeting was opened by AGH University's Vice-Rector for Education, Professor Krzysztof Mendrok, who highlighted the importance of student design and construction teams in the development of future leaders and managers:

Then, Dr Joanna Augustyn-Nadzieja, one of the Rector's proxies for Student Research Clubs, took the floor to thank all the club members and people supporting the project:

The Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, Dr Jarosław Konieczny, Associate Professor at AGH University, also congratulated the students. In turn, the team's supervisors, Dr Wojciech Staszewski and Dr Janusz Ochoński, commented on the remarkable level of potential shown by their students:

RTE 3.5 electric racing car

RTE 3.5 is a racing car built on the basis of lessons learnt from the previous model, RTE 3.0. This season, the AGH Racing team has focused in particular on improving the reliability of the car and reducing its production costs. Furthermore, the AGH University students wanted to develop a new cooling system and a traction measurement system, and switched from a monocoque structure to a tubular chassis.

The key features of the race car developed by the various sections of the club are:

• EV electronics

At the heart of RTE 3.5 is the tried-and-tested RTE 3.0 traction system, comprising four motors integrated into the wheels of the vehicle and a high-voltage traction battery pack developed by the team. This season, the system has been improved by refining the algorithms that distribute torque to each wheel, enabling even better use of the power from the motors and the battery.

The low-voltage electronics system has been completely redesigned and enhanced with the components necessary for the autonomous system to function. The entire electronic architecture has been thoroughly simplified and its weight reduced significantly. Another feature the team is particularly proud of is the high-voltage battery, which utilises innovative technology based on a flexible PCB to measure cell voltage and temperature. Thanks to this technology, the young engineers have reduced the weight of the measuring system itself by more than 70%.

• Autonomous system

The racing car is equipped with an advanced autonomous system that integrates a number of modules that operate in real time. The perception system is based on a stereoscopic camera and a laser scanner; it detects the cones marking the track boundaries and precisely determines their position in space. The SLAM module is responsible for the vehicle's orientation within its surroundings, whilst the proprietary route-planning algorithm determines the optimal route. Thanks to the use of four motors located in the wheels, drive torque is distributed individually to each wheel (torque vectoring and traction control), which allows to take advantage of the full potential of the vehicle and improves its performance compared to driving by the driver alone. It is precisely this ability to control each wheel individually that makes the AGH Racing car futureproof, ready for a fully integrated and autonomous future.

• Suspension

This year, the suspension system has undergone several significant changes. The students drew on the geometry of the guide elements from the previous car. The suspension system has undergone significant changes, with the decoupled heave and roll system being replaced by a conventional system featuring a separate anti-roll bar.

• Chassis and composite materials

Ergonomics, safety, and durability - these are the three key principles that define the load-bearing structure, which is based on the rigorous requirements of Formula Student. Despite the switch from a monocoque structure to a tubular chassis, the students managed to maintain a high level of torsional stiffness.

• Aerodynamics

Although some changes have been introduced to this year's Formula Student regulations, which required the rear wing to be made less effective, the students achieved a lift coefficient (ClA) of -4.03, which, at top speed, results in 2,530 N of downforce.

Photo gallery