City-bred ATV: Reign of the Dirt Reaper

CHENNAI: The Reaper did the job. After four years of cutting, sharpening, burning and dragging mud, the Dirt Reaper finally did it for Chennai. Gruesome images aside, it is a matter of pride that at the fifth edition of the BAJA SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) India, held at Pithampur near Indore, SRM University’s indigenously designed All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) - Dirt Reaper 2.0, returned with top honours. Having passed the initial ‘virtual’ selection to get shorlisted from 244 colleges last year, the SRM team, The Conrods, managed to steer their grim looking ATV through mud, sludge, rocks and a 40 degree incline to ease out 99 other finalists.“We have been participating at the BAJA ever since it started in 2007,” explains K Subhash Babu, captain of the 24-memberteam of engineers, “This current Reaper is the upgraded, revamped version of the ATV we fielded in last year’s edition,” he adds. While the ‘Dirt’ part is acceptable in naming any ATV, the ‘Reaper’ suffix is evident when you look at the vehicle - though it has been designed to look aesthetically pleasant and dashing, the black coated ATV is lean at 270 kgs and looks foreboding with sharp curves, “Our vehicle managed to edge out others in the race because it was at least 25-30 kgs lighter and better designed,” says Subhash, a final year Automobile Engineering student.Besides these, the reaper also features a driverto- pit communication system, a GPS tracker, a driver operated remote fire extinguisher and a seat-belt engine kill system, “All these ensure that the vehicle is completely safe for the driver. It also means that it has extremely good endurance,” says his classmate, Mohneesh Pandey, who is the designated driver. With a top-speed of 70 kmph on variable terrain, this design, with a few tweaks, can give most international ATV makers a run for their money, said most of the judges at the event in Madhya Pradesh.After having toured autocompetitions across the country with the ‘rebooted’ Reaper, The Conrods are resurgent with the accolades they have received.But like most college projects, and make no mistake about it, it is one, will they also disband when the semester ends? “There is a plan to engineer more such auto designs by starting a company with the same team,” trails off Subhash ambitiously, “So our fingers are crossed.”