Britain’s entry for 35th America’s Cup features the race boat R1 with the Land Rover’s bespoke steering wheel. Land Rover says the technology from the new Discovery has been combined with unique personalization to help Land Rover BAR’s Skipper and Team Principal Sir Ben Ainslie win the America’s Cup. The gear shift paddles have been cast in the shape of Sir Ben Ainslie’s fingers for a perfect fit.
The wheel allows Sir Ben to ‘fly’ by adjusting the boat’s hydrofoils with greater precision for the fastest possible racing. He can lift R1, Land Rover BAR’s 2.4-tonne race boat, out of the water with a flick of his fingertips. Just as an aerofoil helps a plane into the sky, hydrofoils lift a boat out of the water. The Land Rover steering wheel turns the boat left and right as it would on a car, while the gear shift paddles control its height above the water by controlling the lift from the foils.
Tony Harper, Director of Research, JLR said, “We have used our experience and technologies developed for the new Discovery and put it on to the race boat. We have used our experience and technologies developed for the new Discovery and put it on to the race boat.aThe paddle system we developed for Land Rover BAR has its roots in the steering wheel gear-change mechanisms our customers use daily. By adding personalised moulds of Sir Ben’s fingers we have provided a mechanism capable of lifting the boat onto its foils, increasing efficiency through the water and ultimately reaching top speed more quickly.”
The team begins its challenge for the America’s Cup on Friday 26 May against Artemis Racing of Sweden.
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