Rennholz trike runs on electric power drill

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Early prototype of the Rennholz racer

The drive mechanism, steering and driving behavior of the vehicle on a test rig constructed from steel

The gorgeous curves of the shaped and bent ply of the Rennholz trike

The Rennholz trike took both the Jury and Public awards at the 2011 Cordless Screwdriver Race

The Rennholz trike, designed and built by Jirka Wolff, Marcel Heise and Andreas Patsiaouras, with project support from Reiner Schneider

The Rennholz trike managed to notch up the third-fastest round during qualifying and made it to the quarterfinals, but failed to secure a race win

Rennholz features custom 16-inch rims at the front and a 20-inch rear wheel, all using Schwalbe Kojak tires, with a caliper brake providing stopping power at the rear

The supplied Bosch PSR 18 LI-2 cordless drill/driver, used to power the Rennholz racer

The team of HAWK University product design students, with the Rennholz trike at the 2011 Cordless Drill race

The race runs for four laps around a flat oval course, with drivers being allowed brief stops in the pit zone during the race to swap out the drill's battery as necessary

Rennholz team members Jirka Wolff, Marcel Heise and Andreas Patsiaouras

The drive mechanism, steering and driving behavior of the vehicle on a test rig constructed from steel

Shaping the plywood for the Rennholz trike

Article Summary

The term "run" in the heading is perhaps a little generous, as the Rennholz trike can only actually go up to a top speed of 15 mph (24 km/h) for about ten minutes before needing a battery swap. Literally translated as Race Wood, it's by no means the only example of a drill-powered vehicle but the gorgeous curves of its shaped wood frame and familiar trike form factor make it much more of an eye-pleaser than, say, the University of Louisiana's Cajun Crawler. It was planned, designed and built by a team of product design students from HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts at Hildesheim in Germany for last year's Cordless Screwdriver Race and although it didn't actually win, the design did take both the Jury and Public awards at the race.

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