The team

Founded in 2002, the Écurie Piston Sport Auto (EPSA) is an association from Ecole Centrale de Lyon. Our purpose is to promote motor sports and automotive engineering.


Each year, 60 students and members of EPSA engineer a competition prototype vehicle. They are in charge of the design of the car whereas our partners take care of the fabrication of the different pieces. Indeed we partner up with several vocational high schools with whom we are really pround to work with. Some of these students spent many hours every week for the making of the vehicle. They are crucial for the project.

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The EPSA team at the Formula Student Netherlands 2019


At the beginning, the car racing team participated in the
SIA Trophy, organized by the Société des Ingénieurs de l'Automobile for french students. The competition took place in Le Mans, one of the most famous car circuit. As EPSA was looking for new challenges, the team participated in the Monte Carlo Rally Racing in 2013.


With the loss of attractiveness of the Trophy, the team wanted to take part in the Formula Student, an international competition in which technological requirements are higher. Hence, EPSA wants to compete with the best student racing teams of the world.

Teaching purpose

The first objective of EPSA is to train students and futur engineers on a tangible example: the design and making of a competition vehicle.


They acquire skills in digital engineering, project management, financial management, industrial organization ... These projects are also an opportunity to delevop relationships with technicians and workers from our partners schools.


More over, we can count on the support of academician and former members of EPSA and Ecole Centrale de Lyon. They provide many engineering classes related to automobile. Thus, there is an inter-generational collaboration.

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A class at the LearningLab Centrale Lyon - EMLyon
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A class of mechanical design made by two academicians at Ecole Centrale de Lyon

Technological objective

The board of EPSA imposes specifical technological evolutions: "each year, the new vehicles made for the Formula Student must be 20% more performant then the previous ones in terms of performance, quality, fabrication reliability and production time and cost". In that respect, in 2009 and 2013, we conceived hybrid vehicles (thermal and electric) which aims to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

 
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The vehicle Virtuoz at the rallye Monte Carlo of new energies
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The vehicle Dynamix at the Formula Student 2014

Associative goal

EPSA allows motor sports fans to gather and attend to competions like the Mitjet Series or GT Tour. It allows them to visit companies related to automobile (Renault F1, ART Grand Prix, Volvo ...). Karting races are also organized among the members.

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Presentation of the vehicle Dynamix for the new members of EPSA in September 2019