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Not just 'our logo on a sail': Automakers gain technology from America's Cup

HAMILTON, Bermuda - From water taxis that "fly" on hydrofoils to aircraft wings and cutting-edge car steering wheels, the America's Cup has produced technology with potential far beyond its "foiling" catamarans. With their focus on carbon fiber and aerodynamics, the teams that fought for the America's Cup attracted partners including planemaker Airbus and automotive groups BMW and Land Rover, who were keen to learn from them. One area where this is likely to have an impact is in harnessing "foiling" technology, where the America's Cup boats "fly" above the water on foils, cutting water resistance. "Foiling in small electric boats will most likely appear on rivers in major cities. We are just at the beginning of the foiling adventure," Pierre Marie Belleau, head of Airbus Business Development, who managed its partnership with Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA, told Reuters. The space-age catamarans used in the 35th America's Cup, which ended in victory for Emirates Team New Zealand this week, can sail at maximum speeds of 50 knots (57 mph) and have more in common with flying than sailing."CARBON FIBER RELATIONSHIP" For Jaguar Land Rover, which sponsored British sailor Ben Ainslie's attempt to win the cup, the relationship is a strategic one with a focus on technology and innovation. "We don't just get our logo onto a sail," Mark Cameron, JLR's Experiential Marketing Director, said by telephone, adding that the carmaker would be providing more designers to help Land Rover BAR with technology for their next campaign. "This is a dynamic sport that is developing fast. ... It's moving quickly just like the car industry is moving quickly. It's all changing," Land Rover produced a special steering wheel for Ainslie to use in the America's Cup, with in-built gear shift paddles that allowed him to adjust the catamaran's "flight" levels. The relationship is similar between BMW and Oracle Team USA, with the German automaker focused on areas including the electronics in the wheel used by skipper Jimmy Spithill, the development of carbon fiber used to make the boat and its components, and the aerodynamic testing. "We like to think of ourselves more as a partner than a sponsor. We have a very strong carbon fiber relationship," Ian Robertson, who is the BMW management board member responsible for sales and brand, told Reuters between races. "This is a dynamic sport that is developing fast. ... It's moving quickly just like the car industry is moving quickly.

BMW Vision Gran Turismo takes M235i Racing to the virtual extreme [w/videos]

Late last year, Mercedes-AMG worked up a concept car called the Vision Gran Turismo. It presented it at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but that wasn't the point: the point was that it would feature in Gran Turismo 6 on the PlayStation 3. It wasn't the first concept created specifically for the popular driving simulator - following similar projects by Citroën and Red Bull Racing - and as we reported just a month later, it wouldn't be the last. What we have here is the next.
Looking like an even more extreme version of the M235i Racing, the BMW Vision Gran Turismo concept builds on "the tradition of the successful BMW touring cars of the 1970s" in a heart-pumping, if unfortunately strictly virtual form. It's got more extreme aero than the aforementioned M235i Racing and a striking take on the M division's signature light blue, dark blue and red stripe over white livery.
Underneath the digital bonnet sits the same 3.0-liter inline six as the M235i, but pumping out a prodigious (if theoretical) 549 horsepower - far more than the 333 hp in the actual Racing version or the 320 hp in the roadgoing model. Of course BMW has given it an ideal 50:50 front-rear weight distribution and a curb weight of 2,600 lbs - nearly a thousand pounds less than the roadgoing M235i.

Weekly Recap: The divergent paths of Tesla and Fisker

There's no doubt that Tesla is downshifting while Fisker has been grinding its gears. But it wasn't always that way.
In the wake of Tesla's recent success, it's easy to forget that there were once two California electric carmakers with bright futures.