A partnership with Rodin Cars and University of Canterbury provides the faculty’s motorsport team with access to Rodins’ world-class facilities and also shows the students where their skills could lead them.

 WHEN establishing Rodin Cars, company founder and chief executive David Dicker, didn’t want to follow the well-worn path of hiring in those already with motorsport experience.

Instead, Dicker wanted a fresh approach and this led him to the University of Canterbury and its Motorsport team (UCM).

“I’ve always felt that if you’ve been doing something for a long time, you’ll only know how to do things one way,” says Dicker.

“With Rodin Cars, I wanted to push the boundaries and not just follow what’s already been done. That’s why we’ve had a long-standing association with the University of Canterbury and its Motorsport team. Pushing the boundaries is about fresh ideas.”

The partnership with Rodin Cars and UCM not only provides the UCM team with access to Rodin Cars’ world-class facilities, but it also shows the students where their skills could lead them.

Jared Parker, national Motorsport Programme team manager and current driver of the ‘Baby Rodin’ details what the involvement with Rodin Cars has meant for the project.

“The partnership between Rodin cars and the University of Canterbury Motorsport team has been vital in our success of building a competitive package.

“From designing the cars where we have had technical support from Rodin Cars’ engineers (many of whom are University of Canterbury Motorsport team alumni), to building the cars with access to the Rodin Cars autoclave, plastics and metal 3D printers, and finally to having access to Rodin Cars' test circuits. We wouldn't be where we are today without them.” 

The relationship between Rodin Cars and the University of Canterbury dates back many years and has included numerous sponsorships, educational workshops and engineering partnerships along the way.

For example, the Baby Rodin race car that will be campaigned by the UCM team in the National Motorsport Programme began life as a Formula SAE competitor back in 2018, with FSAE another programme that Rodin Cars has supported throughout the years.

Adam Waterhouse, who is now a mechanical engineer at Rodin Cars, was a member of the UCM team based around UCM14;

“The University of Canterbury provided me with a solid design-engineering foundation, and encouraged involvement in real-world projects.

“I was privileged to be a part of the Motorsport programme in the early years, and compete in the FSAE competition. I am very thankful for what it taught me about practical design-, prototype- and manufacture-engineering – all in the package of a motorsport project about which I was passionate.

“It is fantastic to now work for Rodin Cars, and have the opportunities to give back to the University, and help the development of future engineers.”

To compete in the National Motorsport Programme and in order to meet the standard required by MotorSport New Zealand, the original Formula SAE racer (known as UMC18C) has undergone numerous modifications and improvements with the help of the team at Rodin Cars.

The Baby Rodin is powered by a 97kW, 675cc Triumph Daytona three-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox and limited-slip differential.

Based around a carbonfibre monocoque, the Baby Rodin weighs just 230kg, giving it a power-to-weight ratio of 422kW/tonne. That figure almost matches the power-to-weight ratio of the million-dollar Ferrari SF90 Stradale.

As part of the National Motorsport Programme, the Baby Rodin will compete at street sprints, local autocross events and selected sealed hillclimbs around New Zealand. The team at Rodin Cars and UCM are also aiming to be highly competitive at high-profile events such as the Leadfoot Festival and Waimate 50 Motorsport Festival.

The next outing for the Baby Rodin will be on June 26 at the Canterbury Car Club Autocross at Ruapuna Motorsport Park, Christchurch.