Baja 2026-27 Racecar

Who are we?

The Baja competition, organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), challenges students to build a car capable of surviving the grueling tests of rough terrain: rocks, ditches, mud, creeks, loose dirt and gravel, drops, snow, and jumps. Universities from around the world compete, allowing students to come together as individuals, teams, and engineers to gain valuable hands-on experience, learning from both their teammates and other schools.

Our mission is to enrich the Northwestern experience through the production of a competitive off-road racing vehicle by inspiring creative automotive design; forging marketable leadership, organizational, and technical skills; passing down knowledge; and building a close-knit engineering community.

Northwestern University Baja, founded in 1990, is the oldest vehicle team on campus, and in recent years we have been improving fast. Our placement at competitions has been rising, our designs are stronger and more elegant, and our team continues to operate more efficiently and effectively. With all that we have learned in the past few years, we are confident that we can continue building competitive cars and provide our members with a college-defining experience.

Project overview:

This year, we are making some drastic changes to the car, ranging from introducing a full-car data acquisition system, to various frame modifications, and suspension geometry changes. Our goal with these modifications is to make a lighter, stronger, and faster car that can withstand the tough conditions we see at competitions. In addition, by manufacturing more components in-house, we aim to give our members more ways to grow their engineering and design skillset. This year, we are also revamping our training program for new members in order to ensure that everyone who joins our team develops into a capable engineer and a confident teammate. New Baja members apply the theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom to real world engineering challenges through projects that teach them how to design, manufacture, and assemble critical components for our car.

How you can help:

We have an enormous project in front of us, and we need support throughout all stages. In addition to building a car, the team also tackles huge obstacles along the way such as competition logistics, growing and educating our team, and making our way to the racetrack with all of the tools, materials, and resources we need to be competitive. Building a car from scratch is expensive—the tubes alone needed to make our frame cost us over $5,000! We also need a variety of stock metal to make our own gearboxes, hubs, uprights, and other components in-house, as well as to make tabs and mounting fixtures. Additionally, we expect several components to break during testing or assembly. This year, we are expanding our electronics subsystems, gathering more accurate information on our car’s performance to corroborate our design choices and providing members with a novel engineering challenge. This will require large new investments in batteries, sensors, and other electronic components we haven’t needed before. In the past, our success as a team has been hindered by a tight budget. We’re hoping you can help.

Our goal:

We hope to raise more than $20,000 through your generous support. This will cover the raw materials needed for the car frame ($5,000) and various shocks and suspension components. ($3,000). In addition to these costs, we also need to fund the raw materials for our gearboxes, custom differentials, axles, and plenty of smaller bills including bolt orders, welding supplies, and all our required safety equipment. Funding that exceeds our goal will be put towards additional materials for our car as well as materials needed to train new members. The Motorcats sincerely appreciate anything you can contribute.

Let’s build a car!

The benefits and services provided by Northwestern University’s student groups are available to all students without regard to any category protected by the law. The University believes different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds are critical to a dynamic and vibrant University community, and as such all students are welcome and encouraged to join each group. Any student interested in exploring establishing a new affinity group should contact SOA.