CHENNAI: It all sparked off during a bus ride as six students of Velammal Engineering College got chatting about an upcoming contest. By the time the ride ended, the group of students had hatched the idea of a pocket-friendly vehicle for the physically challenged people. They would make the contraption ready in 15 days.

Six second year engineering students of different streams put their heads together to design the two-seater vehicle that is completely hand operated. The four-wheeler secured second place at a national contest `Innohap' hosted by SRM Institute, Kattankulathur and SAE India in February.

`Vulcan Scrapo'- just as its name suggests, the vehicle was built with scrap materials. The students vied with 18 teams from across the nation, including those from Visakhapatnam. The car underwent a series of tests such as acceleration and steering control tests.

S.S.Ayyappan, one of the team members, said the accelerator and brakes have been placed in such a way to facilitate a smooth drive for physically challenged people. "We built the vehicle at an affordable cost of about Rs. 20,000," he said.

Recalling the days they spent working with nuts and bolts for hours on end, Ayyappan said "Right from the engine to steering mechanism, we assembled the car with parts from various vehicles."

Besides being eco-friendly, the vehicle also conserves fuel with a mileage of 31 km a litre, said K.Prasanna Venkatesan.

The college provided them a reward of Rs. 20,000 apart from the prize money.

G. Pradeep Sekar, U.S.B. Jithendra, B.Christopher Jenkins and S.Arvind are the other team members. The students plan to upgrade the vehicle by building the body for the car and also create one that operates on solar energy.