SAE, Society of Automotive Engineers, hosts three Baja competitions in the United States each year. These competitions have locations in the Midwest, the East Coast, and the West Coast. This upcoming season, the locations are Washington, New York, and Ohio. Each competition is limited to roughly 100 teams and lasts 4 days, with static and dynamic events totaling 900 Points.
Design presentation is the justification of all the designs of the car. Teams will present to individual judges who specialize in their subsystems and be judged based on how well it can be justified in different areas, including but not limited to: Research and Development, Design/CAD, Testing, data collection, and manufacturability.
The purpose of the Cost Event is to provide teams with an opportunity to show the cost/benefit design decisions used in the prototype vehicle. The Cost Event aims to compare the total vehicle cost for each team against all other teams at the competition. The Cost Report will be summarized in an online format where teams can complete their overall BOM (Bill of Materials) with material and manufacturing costs.
Business Presentation is a test for development and delivery. Teams create a detailed case covering topics in business, logistics, production, and technical aspects in order to gain investors. The judges that evaluate these presentations represent different areas, including but not limited to: engineering, production, marketing, and finance.
This event is used to place each vehicle in a starting grid for the endurance race, the culmination of the competition. Vehicles individually race along a 150 ft track for their fastest completion time.
Maneuverability is designed to test each vehicle’s agility and handling ability. Teams compete to maneuver through the course with the fastest time. The course may consist of challenges at the organizer’s option, possibly including tight turns, pylon maneuvers, ruts, bumps, drop-offs, and more.
The Hill Climb or Sled Pull Events test the vehicle’s ability to climb an incline from a standing start or while pulling a designated object, e.g., a sled or another vehicle.
The endurance race tests each vehicle’s ability to operate over rough terrain with obstacles in potentially adverse weather conditions (rain, snow, etc.). This event serves as a test of the vehicle’s overall durability. Teams race against one another for four hours, and the vehicle that completes the most laps around the course is declared the winner. The endurance course is a closed loop measuring approximately 1.5 to 2 miles in length.
