THE CHALLENGE

Since the very first America’s Cup race, in 1851, Britain has never regained the trophy it instigated. The Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) team was looking for innovative technologies from UK companies to help develop their AC45 catamaran and approached Prodrive to see if we could help.

WHAT WE DID

We produced the control systems that operate the boat’s foils and ‘wing’ (sail), making the boat rise up – and ‘fly’. At the beginning of the programme, we introduced these new technologies and systems to the team, drawing directly on our experience of creating active aero systems for cars. Closer to the actual race, we embedded engineers with the team to help develop and refine the systems further. We also manufactured all the electrical wiring harnesses to withstand the extreme wet and salty environment.

THE RESULTS

Successful delivery of systems across four test boats and one race boat, with ongoing event support. We succeeded because we were already used to applying skills and knowledge gained to other industries.