The 2011 finals of Formula Student took place at Silverstone last weekend, featuring 2,300 students in 125 teams from 34 countries.
A team from the University of Stuttgart took its third win in the competition, making the university the most successful in Formula Student's 14-year history alongside the University of Toronto.
Formula Student, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to promote engineering, challenges universities to design and build a F1-style racing car in one year. The cars are judged on their speed, acceleration, handling and endurance, while the teams are tested on their design, costing and business presentation skills.
Stuttgart's entry was named the best designed car and also won the 22km (13.67 miles) race at Silverstone.
British teams also put in a good showing, with the University of Hertfordshire taking an impressive third place – its best ever result. The University of Bath, which went into the final day facing the prospect of becoming the first UK winner of Formula Student, suffered an engine failure midway through the final endurance race, eventually finishing 16th overall.
Also celebrating were students from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Their impressive electric car took the prize in the low-carbon Class 1A, which judges the cars as much on fuel efficiency and sustainability as on speed. Their electric car outperformed almost every petrol car that took to the track.
Ross Brawn, a Formula Student patron and team principal of the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One team, said: "Formula Student really shows why engineering is such an exciting, dynamic subject to get involved in. Designing, building and financing a race car from scratch, with almost no limitations to the design or the shape, can instil a creativity in young engineers that will be absolutely crucial to them throughout their careers.
"Skilled, experienced engineering graduates are prized across the world, and Formula Student helps to deliver the best."
Jon Hilton, Formula Student chairman and a former F1 engineer, said: "Many of the cars showed a standard of engineering that would rival professional racing series and I'm sure many of these students will end up working in top series such as F1."
The cars can cost anything from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand pounds and can go from 0-60mph in less than three seconds. The competition acts as a testing ground for the next generation of engineers, and almost every F1 team and major motoring company includes Formula Student alumni.