Prodrive joins Sir Ben at BAR<\/p>\n
03 Aug 2015<\/p>\n
The Prodrive deal will be a valuable asset to Land Rover BAR<\/p>\n
AMERICA\u2019S CUP: Prodrive is a company well known to motorsports followers, having won six World Rally titles, four British Touring Car Championships, four Le Mans titles and many others…<\/p>\n
Now, the company \u2013 led by ex-Aston Martin chairman David Richards – has just secured a \u00a36m growth capital investment from BGF (Business Growth Fund) and is to become a technical partner to Sir Ben Ainslie\u2019s Land Rover BAR America\u2019s Cup team.<\/p>\n
The Milton-Keynes based Prodrive Composites employs nearly 200 people and sales hit \u00a313m last year.<\/p>\n
A team of over a dozen engineers has been allocated to the America\u2019s Cup project, both at Land Rover BAR\u2019s headquarters in Portsmouth and at Prodrive\u2019s new headquarters alongside the M40 in Banbury.<\/p>\n
The brief for Prodrive is to help the team develop electrical, electronic and hydraulic control systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a firm believer there is a huge amount we can learn from other sectors of the British design and engineering industry and, by using these skills, we can create the most competitive America\u2019s Cup challenger,\u201d said Mr Ainslie.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I visited Prodrive and talked to David Richards, it was immediately clear to me that they had the right technical skills, resources and competitive instinct to make a real difference to our programme.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prodrive started working on the project in June 2014 and has already developed the hydraulic control system for the foils on the first prototype boat, which lift the 45 foot catamaran hull clear of the water.<\/p>\n
The company will now work on other areas of the final design, as well as manufacturing unique components for the yacht, including its lightweight aerospace specification wiring harnesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur engineers are used to working in a highly competitive sporting environment where, only by analysing and optimising every aspect of a racing car, can we produce the most competitive package,\u201d said Mr Richards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are bringing this motorsport approach to Ben\u2019s already exceptional team of marine engineers to ensure that Ben and the team have the best opportunity to bring the America\u2019s Cup home to Britain for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n
via Boating Business – Prodrive joins Sir Ben at BAR<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prodrive joins Sir Ben at BAR 03 Aug 2015 The Prodrive deal will be a valuable asset to Land Rover BAR AMERICA\u2019S CUP: Prodrive is a company well known to motorsports followers, having won six World Rally titles, four British … Continue reading