Building an iconic movie car for the fun of it

University of Waterloo student Anson Yu loves a design challenge, particularly one that she can work on with friends. Looking for an extracurricular project that was exciting yet achievable, Yu hit upon the idea of recreating a fun vehicle from pop culture. But which one?  

Yu teamed up with her Systems Design Engineering classmates Rishi Kothari, Shivam Sharma, and Chloe Nguyen, and Hudhayfa Nazoordeen from the Faculty of Mathematics and Emannuel Nera and Santiago Del Solar from Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, to brainstorm some ideas. They also enlisted support from their good friend Ben James, an engineer from the University of Cambridge visiting from the U.K. They had a lot of great ideas but there was one that charmed them all — building the legendary Grumobile from Despicable Me. 

The team used the Faculty of Engineering’s Sedra Student Design Centre, a cutting-edge facility dedicated to student teams and their creative projects, as their workshop. “The real MVPs (most valuable players) were the staff in the machine shop”, Yu says. “They were so patient showing us how everything worked.”  

To raise the stakes, they set a tight timeline of just four days to complete the challenge. Yu recalls a friend coming by, looking at their pile of metal and sticks and wheels, and asking them if they were going to be able to do it. 

With the clock ticking, the team learned new skills on the fly, including welding and how to use a lathe, a machine tool that produces precise parts. As their Grumobile started taking shape, other students noticed and often stopped to lend a hand, contributing additional expertise and encouragement.  

Anson Yu, Waterloo Engineering student and Grumobile team leader.

“We hit some road bumps,” Yu says. “But overall, we were having lots of fun, and I think others just wanted to be part of that too."

The team’s Grumobile hit Waterloo’s main campus streets on schedule.

The electric vehicle was an instant hit, surprising and delighting everyone who saw it — even Dr. Mary Wells, dean of the Faculty of Engineering, who took it for a spin.  

“These kinds of projects are invaluable, highlighting the importance of creativity in engineering education,” Wells says. “When students collaborate on bold and unconventional ideas, they push the boundaries of what’s possible and create lasting memories that inspire the entire campus community.” 

Yu and Nguyen, both Loran Scholarship recipients, along with others from the team, are part of Socratica, an organization founded at Waterloo, that provides participants with the space and network to create together. Its collaborative events focus on empowering people to design, play, build, to turn their ideas into reality. The organization’s framework and toolbox have resonated far beyond Waterloo, leading to its rapid expansion across Canada and internationally.  

Rooted in the Socratica ethos, Grumobile represents much more than a fun side project — it embodies the creative and collaborative energy that thrives on campus. Student-led initiatives like this showcase how skills from different disciplines can unite to bring imaginative ideas to life. 

“We’re big proponents of prank culture and doing whimsical things that make people do a double take”, Yu says “When we were testing and driving the Grumobile around, it was like wearing a force field that made people smile.” 

Feature image from left to right: Ben James, Rishi Kothari, Shivam Sharma, Santiago Del Solar, Hudhayfa Nazoordeen and Emmanuel Nera. Photo credit: Anson Yu.