I know the last thing these kids want to be is cute. They're a racing team, dammit, and they're here to kick ass on the racetrack and eat Pop Rocks. And nobody's seen Pop Rocks in years. I respect that. Even so, I can't help but look at that team photo and feel my squee gland secrete awwwrotonin.
These 10 boys and girls are from the March CE Primary school, which is lucky enough to be right around the corner from Rolls-Royce HQ in Goodwood, UK. The school participated in the Greenpower IET Formula Goblin competition, a program where 9-11 year old kids build and race little electric cars. The fundamental design is based on a kit, but a some customization is allowed. Oh, and then they get to race the cars at Goodwood Motor Circuit.
Team March's support from Rolls-Royce helped them win the coveted 'Best Bodywork' prize, and you can see why, with that rakish and novel-design Rolls-Royce grille classing up the front of the car. Rolls also helped the team itself to look good, making them custom racing suits in their own leather working department.
The team also got a tour of the factory and Rolls engineers helped consult on the construction of the car, which might make this Rolls-Royce's first all-electric vehicle. I'm sure Tesla's engineering department is already attempting to acquire the car for evaluation.
These kids were pretty damn lucky to be so close to Rolls-Royce; I hear the school team that was close to the local Bristol factory just got a handful of lug nuts flung at them by Old Man Bristol and a stern admonition to get the hell off their property, if they know what's good for them.
It looks like these kids had a blast. This seems to be a great program; I suspect there's probably similar ones in the US, but I haven't seen any major company interaction to this degree so far. So, good job, Rolls.