The Car

The Iowa State Mini Baja Team designs and builds almost all aspects of the car.  Design of the car is accomplished using a 3-D Computer Aided Design program.  This allows the team to discuss and implement changes to the car before fabrication is even started, reducing costly time and material waste.  The Mini Baja Team is equipped with a full machine shop to aid in fabricating the car.  No experience is necessary to join the team, with the main goal of the team being education, whether it be design of the car, or the mechanical aspects of building a Mini Baja vehicle.

Mini-Baja vehicles are judged by industry professionals on the following static criteria: Originality and Innovation, Suspension and Brake System, Power Train, Structural Design, Craftsmanship, Operator Comfort, Feasibility for Mass Production, and Serviceability.  These criteria are supplemented with three written reports: Design, Safety, and Cost.  In addition to these static events, multiple dynamic events are also held.  These include a Hill Climb, a Top Speed, Acceleration and Braking event, a Sled Pull event, and a Maneuverability course.  The culmination of the team members time, energy and thought is a grueling four hour endurance race that tests the vehicles and pushes both man and machine past normal boundaries.