Sir Ben Ainslie and family christen Land Rover BAR America’s Cup race boat ‘Rita’ in Bermuda

(BERMUDA) – February, 2017 – Land Rover BAR have launched the boat they believe will make sailing history. Extremely fast, the technically advanced craft has been developed with Jaguar Land Rover engineers with one aim: to win the world’s oldest sporting trophy.

Launched in Bermuda, the boat was named ‘Rita’ by Sir Ben Ainslie’s wife Lady Georgie Ainslie and daughter Bellatrix. The name has a winning pedigree – Sir Ben has used it throughout his career.

https://youtu.be/sQA08mHOEAY

BAR shared the engineering skills used by Jaguar Land Rover to create its newest models.

Aerodynamics,  artificial intelligence and virtual-modeling technologies are all helping the boat to go faster.

Tony Harper, Director of Research at Jaguar Land Rover, said, “We developed industry-first aerodynamic testing to support the wingsail design which you can see on the final boat here today. From the success of this project, and with our knowledge of analysis and construction of light-weight vehicles, we have also supported the structural design of the daggerboards – the surfboard-style structure underneath the boat that allow it to fly and keep it stable when out of the water.”

Land Rover BAR Yacht

Each light-weight daggerboard needs to bear 5,291lbs, the equivalent of a new Land Rover Discovery model, so their job on the boat is crucial.

Tony Harper added, “It has been an incredible campaign to be involved in as a British automotive brand. We are extremely proud to be supporting Sir Ben Ainslie’s entry into this legendary race.”

“The America’s Cup has always been a sailing and design race and the boats have developed from ropes and winches to more technical machines which will fly out of the water at up to 60mph. This complex design requires the latest engineering skill and insight, allowing automotive brands to make a significant impact in the design race – very much like in F1.”

Sir Ben Ainslie said, “It’s a great moment to see our race boat Rita hit the water in Bermuda. The launch represents the sum of all the team’s efforts to bring the America’s Cup home, and we’re delighted to get her in the water here in Bermuda. We’re a start-up team, and we had to build not just the boat but the design and engineering team, the facilities and the processes to get to this point today.”