The people behind the ultimate driving machine are building the ultimate sledding machine.
BMW of North America has invested more than a year developing a “truly improved and innovative” prototype two-man bobsled for the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Foundation. The goal is to have a race-ready ride finished in time for the 2014 Winter Games in Soichi, one that team officials said might bring the U.S. squad its first two-man gold since 1936.
“I happen to think these are going to be very good,” Darrin Steele, CEO of the U.S. bobsledding foundation, told the Associated Press.
This isn’t the first time the U.S. bobsled team has sought help from those who know a thing or two about going fast on four wheels. Earlier this year, NASCAR legend Jeff Bodine and racecar builder Bob Cunero announced the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project in partnership with the federation. Cunero’s shop, Chassis Dynamics, has built six competition sleds since 2002.
The BMW project, announced today, began when the federation asked BMW to help bridge a “technology gap” with more competitive squads, primarily in Europe. BMW is a U.S. Olympic sponsor through 2016, and the foundation hoped to tap its expertise building fast, sharp-handling cars — hello, 1 Series M — and re-engineer the sled it has used for more than 20 years.
BMW approached the project much like it would approach developing a new car. Although the design and construction of competition bobsleds is governed by international rules — and, frankly, bobsleds all look about the same to the casual observer — both BMW and the federation say the new sled is “distinctly recognizable.”
BMW approached the project much like it would the design of a new car. After tapping “the deep empirical knowledge” of the federation and studying existing designs, BMW hit the design studio, then the wind tunnel. No one is saying much about what the sled looks like or how it performs, but Laurenz Schaffer, president of BMW Group DesignworksUSA, said the company drew from its expertise in lightweight materials, aerodynamics and chassis dynamics to build “a truly improved and innovative product.”
The sled has made some shakedown runs at the Olympic track in Park City, Utah, with reigning Olympic and world champion Steven Holcomb among those putting it to the test. BMW and the federation plan to continue refining the design through the next year, but there’s been no word on when the sled might see competition.
“We can’t wait to see this finished sled on the ice,” said Ludwig Willisch, president and CEO of BMW North America.
Neither can we.
BMW Builds the Ultimate Sledding Machine for the U.S. Bobsled Team
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BMW Builds the Ultimate Sledding Machine for the U.S. Bobsled Team
