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Photo: USC Racing

USC Racing: Meet Nikki, the fastest car in Troy

Meet Nikki, the fastest car in Troy.

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Nikki is the name of the USC racing team’s car. It weighs 485 pounds.

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Nikki has a 4-cylinder Yamaha R6 engine. This engine was taken straight out of a motorcycle.

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Nikki can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in only 3.5 seconds.

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Nikki can pull two lateral G’s, which is higher than almost every supercar. A lateral G is the sideways force that people experience while turning a vehicle.

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Nikki has a steering wheel that resembles that of a Formula 1 racing car. It has integrated electronic displays that let the driver know everything from speed and RPM to water temperature and oil pressure.

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USC’s racing cars are built almost entirely in-house by USC students, including Jason Zide, John Baltz and Tyler Makin.

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Boeing, General Motors, Northrop Grumman, Chevron and Wells Fargo sponsor the USC racing team.

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USC’s racing cars are built almost entirely in-house by USC students, including Jason Zide, John Baltz and Tyler Makin.

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Nikki was built in three stages—designing, building and testing—between June 2013 and June 2014.

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The USC racing team spent about $60,000 to build Nikki. The team’s sponsors also donated materials and services that went into Nikki’s development, including machinery.

 

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