In 2001, the Ryerson Formula SAE Team was a first year competitor. The Formula One style car was designed and fabricated by a group of approximately 10 undergraduate engineering students, including Daryl Bear, Pete Lejbuke, Matt Thomas, Brad Moase, Thomas Sparrow, Pierro Zambotti, Jeff Anderson, Jayson Smith, and Dean Gerol.

The 2001 car was a tubular skeleton frame, which used aluminum honeycomb panels for triangulation and a great deal of the structure. The team used a number of advanced bonding techniques, which resulted in a lighter, stiffer, and stronger chassis. The car was initially designed around a Kawasaki engine, but the team was able to obtain sponsorship from Yamaha Canada, allowing the use of the potent R6 engine. Unfortunately, due to teething problems with the fueling system, the car was unable to run the dynamic events at the 2001 competition. However, the judges recognized its ingenuity with a design placing of 32nd out of 130 teams.