OU Engineering Students Pour Hearts, Souls Into 'Allison'

Gan Matthews, News 9

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- When they're not in class, several University of Oklahoma engineering students spend hours working on "Allison," a Formula One race car.

The students belong to the Sooner Racing Team. They're currently putting the finishing touches on Allison, the latest edition in a line of OU race cars.

"Everything is done in house," said team member Thomas Ingram. "We do all the engineering calculations for it, all the design stuff, and we do all the manufacturing in house as well. But the best part is we get to race it ourselves."

In 2010, the team built "Haley" -- Allison's predecessor -- and entered the car in national and international competitions. In Germany, the Sooner Racing Team finished eight out of 79 cars. Nic Evans was one of the drivers.

"It's definitely exhilarating," said Evans. "It's really fast. It goes from zero to sixty in about three seconds."

Allison should be ready for competitive trials in California in June.