It accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds. It costs more than $100,000 to build. And it’s primarily handmade.

“This is definitely not a go-cart,” Kansas University’s Jayhawk Motorsports team captain Logan Johnson said.

The team’s formula-style racing car, designed and built by the eight-member team, nears completion as the team prepares for the national Formula SAE competition near Detroit next month.

The contest, organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers, will pit KU’s team against more than 100 other schools. And this year’s team hopes to improve on last year’s 12th-place finish.

“I certainly would expect a top 10 this year,” said Robert Sorem, the team’s faculty adviser.

Those on the team say it’s the best student project on campus – a chance for senior engineering students to put what they’ve learned into action in the largest project they’ll do at KU. Eight students make up this year’s design team, and many others volunteer.

“It’s definitely more difficult than you think to build a car,” team member Kyle Martens said.

The team follows a list of hundreds of rules for building the car. Over the course of the school year, often logging 40-100 hours per week of work, the students craft the car powered with a 600 cc. motorcycle engine.

They mold and bake the carbon fiber chassis. They use computer-controlled machines to create the rear subframe. The engine is purchased and modified. About 70 percent of the car’s parts are made by hand.

The car, which has 1 inch of ground clearance, can zoom faster than 100 mph, though the students have never taken it to top speeds, Johnson said. They might drive it faster than 70 mph.

“It has an extremely quick response for turning,” Johnson said. “It’s crazy how fast these things can go.”

At competition, Cornell University’s team often takes the top prize. And then some schools have pretty sorry cars.

“The playing field isn’t really level, but most people do it because they enjoy it,” team member Garrett Witthar said.

KU has climbed up the ranks over the years, and last year’s finish was the highest ever for KU. But winning isn’t everything.

The project is a great resume booster and learning experience, the team members said.

“You take the stuff you learn in engineering school and you get to see how it works in real life,” Martens said. “We get to drive something that’s really fun and fast.”