Kingston University engineering students unveiled their new custom-built race car at a Town House launch event ahead of this year's Formula Student competition at the iconic Silverstone circuit, running from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 July.

The annual contest pits teams of students from across the globe against each other to see who has produced the best car.

This year promises to be the most competitive event yet with some 140 teams, including a host of new international entrants, taking part in Formula Student.

Last year, the Kingston Racing team secured the institution's best-ever finish after a fantastic effort in the endurance event at the home of British motorsport.

A remarkable seventh place finish saw a drastic improvement from 2019 where Kingston finished 69th out of the 80 entrants.

Following a launch event at the University's flagship Town House building, attended by a number of invited guests including Mayor of Kington Councillor Yogan Yoganathan, Kingston's Racing's team leader and MSc Mechanical Engineering student Andreas Bedoya, spoke of his pride in the team getting the car ready in time.

He said: "It was a huge weight of our shoulders to get the car ready to go and we are all so excited to get to Silverstone now. I will be one of the drivers and as a big F1 fan I can't wait to drive on that famous track.

"Our hope this year, with an expanded number of teams and some really tough competition, is to get into the top 20 and we are confident we have a powerful and reliable car that can help us achieve that result."

The new Kingston Racing car (Image: Kingston University)

The design process for the Formula Student car starts in September and goes right up to the launch event in June.

The team is only allowed to use a certain percentage of the previous year's car, so the students involved have to constantly think of new ideas and innovations, working within set regulations and to a budget.

Sponsors also need to be attracted in order to fund the building of the car and this year sees construction companies Rubix and BAMD on board.

The event itself features a series of events, including speed and endurance tests, while the teams also have to present a business plan to the judges setting out the decisions they made when constructing the car.