A car constructed with a bamboo body has won the ‘circular economy’ award at the Shell Eco Marathon competition held in Singapore. The event pits teams of STEM students against each other in a contest to design, build and then race ultra-energy-efficient cars.

Unfortunately, the on-track event was cancelled due to Covid-19, but the cars still came under technical scrutiny and awards granted. The team was also working on converting its internal combustion engine to electric when the pandemic struck.

Local media outlets Times of India and The Hindu reported that the laurels were taken by Team Pravega, made up of mechanical engineering students of Government Engineering College, Barton Hill in Thiruvananthapuram. Their car named ‘Senna’ after the famous F1 driver was developed with the help of the Bamboo Research Centre at the college, and Bamboo Pecker, a Bengaluru-based company.