Formula Hybrid is a design and engineering challenge for undergraduate and graduate college and university students. They must design, build, and compete an open-wheel, single-seat, plug-in hybrid racecar. This car must conform to a formula which emphasizes drive train innovation and fuel efficiency in a high-performance application. Formula Hybrid builds on the Formula SAE program and adds a new level of complexity and provides an additional technical challenge to student teams.

The emphasis of the Formula Hybrid Competition is on the engineering of the hybrid drive system and vehicle suspension to maximize performance in three different tests, acceleration, autocross and endurance. The most challenging event at the competition is the Endurance event, where all the vehicles begin having fully charged their accumulators (Batteries or Capacitors) from the grid, as is the norm for a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

The completed vehicles must appeal to the nonprofessional weekend autocross racer, and as such must have good handling, acceleration, ergonomics, braking, and reliability. It also has to be a marketable prototype for a manufacturing firm, so aesthetics, use of common parts, and price are also considerations. Each team's design will be compared and judged against other competing designs to determine the best overall vehicle.

After passing technical inspection by the competition judges to ensure the vehicles are safe to race, the cars undergo dynamic events including a 75m sprint in electric-only and hybrid mode to test acceleration, autocross to test the vehicle's handling, and endurance to test efficiency in a race environment.

A "sales pitch" presentation by the design team and design innovation are also included in the judging.

The competition will be held May 3-6, 2010 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH.