BMW helps build racing yacht

[Plex]

BMW has helped to build and engineer racing yachts which will compete in this year's America's Cup race series. The BMW Oracle Racing USA 61 boat was revealed this week at the London Boat Show. BMW has sponsored the Oracle Racing team since 2002, but for the first time, it has had a significant input into the boat's development and production.

Four BMW engineers from the Munich technical centre were seconded to join the design team, explained BMW Oracle Racing spokesman Tom Ehman, as part of a "technology transfer" programme. "This is unique in the America's Cup", he said, "and the first time a sponsor has played such a truly significant role in the technology of the team."

The engineers used BMW's simulation software to develop the boat's strong and rigid, but lightweight, carbonfibre structures, similar to those of the BMW-Sauber F1 car. The boat even features a carbonfibre roof - as on the M6 Coupe. "BMW helped in the structural analysis", said Ehman, "and the weight distribution and keeping the weight down. They helped us to keep the structure strong, and to get more weight to the bottom of the boat" (for stability).

BMW has also played an important role in the boat's production. "This is the first time a title partner has played a part in manufacturing an America's Cup boat", said Ehman. The 24m-long, 1570kg boat's keel fin, a crucial component, has been made at BMW's Eisenach factory. The three metre-long fin is made from ultra-high strength steel - the same as that used in BMW's cars in their crash-structural zones.

The BMW Oracle team is now about to start pre-race testing off the coast of New Zealand in preparation for its first race, the Louis Vuitton Cup in Valencia in April.

Source: http://www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=15669