He Grew Up Making Paper Cars, Now He’s Building A Formula 1 Race Car

Luis Luna grew up making cars, buildings and airplanes out of paper.

When he was 12, he taught himself how to use SketchUp, a 3D model software.

“I was always passionate about creating and building things,” said Luis Luna, who is scheduled to earn his associate’s degree in mechanical engineering from Miami Dade College in April.

Now the 20-year-old is building a Formula 1 race car at Wolfson Campus’ Makers Lab with the help of his brother Juan Luna and Giorgio Corrado, a 2021 MDC graduate.

“We want to create this to leave a legacy in the engineering [field] at MDC,” said Luis Luna. “Something that is unique, exciting and challenging.”

Luis, Juan and Corrado began planning and designing the car in October of 2021 and are expected to finish assembling the parts of the vehicle by May to present it at the F1 Miami Grand Prix 2022. They dedicate one day every weekend to working on the car.

The trio has a roadmap for the project. In 2018, Juan built a Formula 1 race car at the Makers Lab alongside a team of nine students.

“My brother is the one person who has kept me awake in this field,” Juan Luna said. “You have to have a partner who keeps you wanting to keep going when you feel down or don’t want to continue doing it. He is my ultimate motivation and I’m really proud of him.” 

To create the design, the group is using Fusion 360, a software that allows them to make calculations, render and model the car on a cloud-based platform. 

Luis Luna is also building a 3D printer to print large-scale parts for the car. They are using a tig welder to connect the different parts of the car’s frame and Chromoly steel—a special type of steel used for frames.

Once it’s completed, the car will be used as a research and development tool at MDC in hopes of improving the electric vehicle industry.

“It’s so exciting to work with such an amazing team and I can’t wait for the reward of satisfaction at the end when my team and I can finally say ‘wow we thought this and now it’s real,’” Corrado said.