Overview

Motorsport is a dynamic, highly competitive industry reliant on the skill and expertise of engineers to optimise all aspects of the design, build and testing of racing cars and bikes. In excess of 41,000 people were employed in the UK motorsport industry in 2018.

Coventry University has a long and prestigious automotive, transport and engineering heritage with current extensive links to well-known automotive companies like Jaguar Land Rover, Tata and Lotus, Coventry

Initially, you will be enrolled onto the BEng (Hons) programme. At the end of the second year, you may be offered the opportunity to progress to the MEng pathway depending on your academic performance (typically a 2:1 or above in your second year). This allows you the time and support to grow in your engineering discipline and maximise your access to the integrated MEng qualification.

Course information

Successful motorsport engineers may work on the design, testing and production of performance vehicles or become part of a racing team responsible for improving performance before, during and after a race.

Alongside the Motorsport specialisations you will study, you will also have the opportunity to develop your broader Mechanical Engineering and professional skills. Consequently, our Motorsport graduates are highly sought after across a broad range of engineering industries.

The course offers you the chance to specialise in performance engineering, covering design for performance, construction and operation of competition vehicles, alongside related aspects of materials science, aerodynamics, structural analysis, vehicle systems. We also aim to provide you with a sound understanding of the commercial context of motorsport engineering, together with the commercial and technical risks associated with innovation.

The IMechE Formula Student project provides an all-round experience – from undertaking full cost analysis and producing the business and manufacturing case to designing a vehicle and planning a limited production run. Working to a set of international rules with fixed delivery targets and deadlines, you should gain practical experience in planning, executing and reporting on a motorsport project. You will also have the opportunity to improve your digital literacy by submitting CAD models, technical drawings, design posters, as well as a couple of technical reports on their designs.

Throughout your study of this course, you have the opportunity to develop an awareness of the wider responsibilities to society, especially in terms of issues relating to ethics, health, safety and sustainability. We will share the corporate context of engineering, alongside the commercial and technical risks associated with innovation, enabling you to deal with new and unusual challenges in automotive engineering.

We will encourage you to use imagination and creativity to provide innovative solutions, so that you have the opportunity to graduate with a set of skills which could enable you to progress rapidly to positions of responsibility providing technical, managerial and entrepreneurial leadership in specialist or interdisciplinary projects.