Loudon, N.H. -- Yes, the competition sponsored by Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering this week is meant for student-built and designed Formula Hybrid cars. But Colorado State University's intrepid team redefined “hybrid” and became everyone’s paddock pals.

When the rain fell yesterday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, all of the participants had to equip their cars with treaded tires, as opposed to the smooth “slicks” which are normally used. Problem -- Colorado State's crew didn't have the budget for treads.

So, they backed an average Nissan four-door rental into the garage, praying that its bolt pattern would match the one on the experimental vehicle.

Bingo. Look, ma, a hybrid -- part Nissan, part Formula racer.

In the neighboring stall, several of Dartmouth's contingent repeated the same thing: “That's hilarious!”

Such is the spirit of the third annual Formula Hybrid International Competition, a test not simply to construct and design a fuel-efficient, open-wheel racecar under countless restrictions, but to foster team problem-solving in tight corners.

“These events are more about improving project management skills, not to invent things,” said Steve Daum, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International manager of collegiate programs who helped administer yesterday's events. “Project management, that can't be taught in the classroom.”

Dartmouth's entry in a field of approximately 20 Formula Hybrids -- cars that blend traditional internal combustion engines with electric motors and other electronic components -- is a testament to project management.

For example, the 2009 vehicle was built from scratch, beginning last fall and concluding within the last month; the 2008 Formula SAE car was purely gas-driven and doesn't heed some hybrid restrictions. Nine students from Thayer School professor John Collier's Engines 290 class developed the car, while approximately 11 more students with various engineering skills contributed to its design and construction. Together, they ride under the Dartmouth Formula Racing banner.

“From my standpoint, I'm interested in giving them really, really challenging engineering problems,” said Collier, who quietly advises the team at the three-day competition. “In essence, their final exam is, does it go?”

In preparation for yesterday's tests in acceleration and autocross (think obstacle course with pylons), a half-dozen Dartmouth engineers-to-be hovered around the car at any one time. First-year Thayer student Erik Bell, a former shortstop with the Big Green baseball team, tinkered with the suspension. Ashley Heist, who played varsity field hockey and women's lacrosse as an undergrad, designed the structural uprights for the four corners.

Tom Carney, a second-year Thayer student, put together some of the embedded electronics and drove the vehicle for the acceleration test (how fast it could cover 75 meters). He marveled at the number of hours his cohorts had logged in piecing together a wholly new machine.

“We've really learned a lot about how to solve real problems and manage a project,” said Carney, whose true calling will soon be electronics design at Alarm.com near Washington, D.C. “This is a huge project. There are so many things going on and so many people, and the time is so short.”

From conceptualization last summer to completed construction at the end of March, Dartmouth's series hybrid vehicle has been an imperfect product of trial and error. Carney recalled bent ant arms when the brakes were first tested and a rear hub that broke loose from its weld -- luckily while the car was stopped.

“It's whatever we're not expecting,” explained senior Adam Marano, who has been involved with Dartmouth Formula Racing since his freshman year. “You think it's working fine, and you worry about all these things. Then you make them work, and these other things come up that you're not expecting.”

Yesterday, the challenges continued. The car spun its rear wheels upon takeoff and took a long time to recalibrate for optimal speed. Therefore, Dartmouth's acceleration times in unrestricted (internal combustion plus electric) and purely electric mode were good, but not great.

“We're having trouble with our motor controllers right now,” Marano said. “If you go full power and something goes wrong, they really scale power back, and then they all of a sudden they come back in again.”

Even with customized rain tires -- that's OK, Colorado State, Dartmouth brought its own -- the autocross course was a bear. Driver Mark Criscimagna couldn't wield maximum power or control, so a few pylons were harmed in the filming of this particular “movie.”

“Anytime you were trying to utilize traction for braking and steering, you just couldn't hold it,” said Criscimagna, a second-year Thayer student. “You were either going really slow through the turns, because you had to coast the entire way. If you tried to come in a little faster with braking, as soon as you turned the car would continue to go straight.”

Fortunately, the two acceleration modes and autocross are just three of seven scoring categories at the competition. Dartmouth excelled in Monday's presentation and engineering design segments. Today, the team will attack fuel economy and endurance (the latter is worth 400 of a possible 1,000 points).

Collier noted that the competition is still in its infancy, but it continues to grow like a weed. Two cars were measured in a dry run of the event four years ago, and approximately a dozen cars passed specs to compete in 2008.

This year, 30 teams representing five countries pledged entries, with about 20 cars making the competitive grade. A Russian group managed to ship a hybrid to Loudon, but a Chinese team expected to attend couldn't quite pull it off.

Some vehicles, such as Brigham Young University's hydraulic-powered car, were exhibitions and did not run in the dynamic events. But the roar of Texas A&M's vehicle and the uniquely slanted wheels on the Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo entry demonstrated ingenuity above and beyond stealing tires from a rented Nissan.

“It started out as an interesting engineering project, and it's since become an interest in motor sports and racing,” Marano said. “Coming in freshman year, I never would have said that I was interested in that.”

Tony Lane can be reached at alane@vnews.com or (603) 727-3227.