Cranfield Automotive Challenge 2012 

Christina Kostova, Year 2 BEng Aerospace Engineering, enjoyed three exciting, action packed days of behind the scenes tours and hands-on driving experiences at some of the most exclusive automotive facilities in the UK when she became one of four lucky winners of the Cranfield Automotive Challenge 2012.

Christina reflects on her once in a lifetime experience:        Winning the Cranfield Automotive Challenge 2012 was the best experience I could ever have. It gave me such a thrilling time, adding to my future prospects and making a lot of useful contacts, developing friendly relations and gaining ground-breaking knowledge. Cranfield Automotive Challenge is a well-structured and maintained competition which comprises of two entry rounds. After registration all you have to do is answer a multiple choice questionnaire and do your research about the companies involved. Answering all questions correctly leads you successfully to Round 2 where you are asked to write a short (about 100 words) essay. The topic for this year was “the most significant safety developments within the next 10 years and the key challenges of implementing them”. I never thought I could win this just because it sounded so good to be true. After a couple of months though I received the E-mail confirming that I won and the judging panel was very impressed with my answer to the essay. I was over the moon, my heart was pounding, and it took me a while to assimilate the idea even though I was reading it over and over again.

The prize was the best thing I have ever experienced so far. On Day One we, the four winners, were taken to Cranfield University for a tour around the Automotive Department where we were shown the different projects students were working on. We had fun doing a test establishing our personal driving profile and learning how this implements on our decisions on the road. The same day we headed to Millbrook Test Facility where we had the chance to drive a skid car and learn how to prevent accidents and take control over an unstable vehicle. A ride around the different tracks showed us how tests are performed for safety and the handling of new cars going into market.

On Day Two we found ourselves at the heart of Aston Martin where we were presented with the full production line of every model of the top class 007 supremacy. My heart and mind were racing on their own when a professional racing driver took us on a 30 minute ride with the new Aston Martin DB9, a beast equipped with 510 BHP V12 engine.

Next stop was Jaguar Land Rover where we got full hands-on experience on the driving simulator, learning to tame Jaguar’s speed on the test track. An amazing 3D presentation blew my mind in Jaguar Land Rover’s virtual cave. This is where they can strip their vehicles to the smallest details, build and engineer every aspect of the cars up to scale.

The last day of our experience ended with a tour of Mercedes AMG Petronas, with a behind the scenes tour of the building and seeing how they manage the cars for Formula One. Just being there cannot be compared with anything. Every day I saw things that were of my utmost interest and every single day I thought that it could not possibly get any better, but it did up to the last day of the trip. The presentations and experiences escalated, and surpassed my expectations. I had the time of my life.