- Bespoke Land Rover steering wheel aboard Britain’s entry for 35th America’s Cup
- Gear shift paddles cast in shape of Land Rover BAR skipper Sir Ben Ainslie’s fingers for perfect fit
- New design helps Land Rover BAR race boat R1 hit top speed faster
- Britain’s quest to end 166‑year wait for victory begins on Friday, May 26 in Bermuda as the Land Rover BAR team head into the qualifiers for the 35th America’s Cup
(BERMUDA) – May 2, 2017 – As Title and Exclusive Innovation Partner, Land Rover has combined technology from the new Discovery with unique personalization to help Sir Ben Ainslie and the Land Rover BAR Team win the America’s Cup. Engineers have created a one‑off steering wheel with gear‑shift paddles shaped to fit Sir Ben’s hands – giving the Olympic legend perfect fingertip control in his pursuit of the America’s Cup, the world’s oldest sporting trophy.
The steering wheel allows Skipper and Team Principal, Sir Ben, to “fly” by adjusting the boat’s hydrofoils with greater precision for the fastest possible racing. In the same way an aerofoil helps a plane into the sky, he can lift R1, Land Rover BAR’s 2.4‑ton race boat, out of the water with a flick of his fingertips. 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 managing the lift from the foils.
Sir Ben said, “This is not just a great piece of design and engineering, but beautiful craftsmanship. The controls are intuitive and smooth, with just the right amount of feel and feedback. It really has made a difference to how I control R1.”
Land Rover’s Human Machine Interface engineers spent 18 months developing the steering wheel that will lift R1 above the water at speeds above 50 knots.
Tony Harper, Director of Research at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “We have used our experience and technologies developed for the new Discovery and put it on to the race boat. The paddle system we developed for Land Rover BAR has its roots in the steering wheel gear‑change mechanisms our customers use daily. By adding personalized molds 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.”
Richard Hopkirk, Engineering Manager at Land Rover BAR, said: “Land Rover’s new easier‑to‑use controls are a reliable and innovative design concept, giving Sir Ben and the team a feature not seen before in the America’s Cup. This is the critical piece of technology on board – the connection between Sir Ben and the boat. I’m really grateful to the Land Rover engineers for working so closely with our team and leading the development of such an effective, efficient design.”
As Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series champions, Land Rover BAR head into the qualifiers for the 35th America’s Cup with a two‑point head‑start over the remaining challengers. The team begins its challenge for the America’s Cup on Friday, May 26, against Artemis Racing of Sweden.
