Spring hopes eternal. Is this the year for a new Wayne State championship car team? Despite a drizzling early May afternoon on the Gullen Mall, the Wayne State University Formula SAE team unveiled its hope for the 2005 Formula SAE competition next week at the Pontiac Silverdome.

A dozen engineering students, mostly sophomores, and including one female, took a break from the engineering lab to pose for photos and accolades from Wayne State Provost Nancy Barrett, Engineering Dean Ralph Kummler, Michele Grimm, Engineering’s associate dean of academic affairs.

For the moment, they were all smiles. Dmitry Frankstein, WSU Formula SAE captain, introduced the team members, and then, pulled off a white canvas tarp revealing their work for the past 12 months – a sleek and shiny black and white small-scale Formula One racing car.

The car was nearly completely rebuilt after last year’s competition when Wayne State competed for the first time and placed 96 out of 134 teams from around the world, but high among the first-year cars. “We’ve made so many major improvements, it should show in our performance this year,” said Andrew Pavelescu, team manager.

Redesigning has reduced the car’s weight to a little more than 500 pounds, down from 646 pounds. “We’ve improved our traction, and cut down the frame 30 percent,” said Frankstein. Last year’s frame was made of steel and composite material. This year it is made of structural foam.

Through national competitions, Wayne State has earned a reputation for fielding strong competitively engineered vehicles. Thirty-five years ago, a Wayne State engineering team won first place at the 1970 Clean Car Race. Ten years ago, students on the Wayne State hybrid vehicle team quietly returned to campus with a first place overall finish at the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Challenge held in Auburn Hills. And seven years ago, Team Ethanol from Wayne State celebrated first place overall at the 1998 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge.

The 2005 Formula SAE Competition begins Wednesday, May 18, at the Pontiac Silverdome. The competition continues through Sunday, May 22.