Alpine decided to apply their extensive technical experience, acquired over the years in Formula 1, to a project not related to racing, but also to speed.
We are talking about the French startup Aqualines – this young company develops naviplanes – a new generation of super-fast watercraft.
“Normally, of course, we only deal with racing, but we use our capabilities in commercial projects that have nothing to do with Formula 1,” said Bob Bell, strategy advisor for the Alpine F1 Team. “For about 18 months I have been helping to build Alpine Lab’s R&D division, which has been my top priority.
I have worked very closely with customers who require our services as Alpine Lab joins forces with our business unit. It is very interesting to work with the Aqualines project. When the specialists of this company contacted us, they were very well prepared and knew exactly what they wanted.
The bottom line is that they’ve developed a vehicle that comes very close to the surface – in this case, close to the surface of the water. They provided the finished design of this machine and calculated the parameters of the required test modes, which we can provide.
We then developed a test program and built a model according to Aqualines’ requirements. The services they wanted from us fully correspond to the area of our knowledge and experience.”
The joint testing program utilized the technological capabilities of the Formula 1 team’s base in Enstone. Although the project is aimed at the creation of a high-speed craft, it uses the ground effect principle and Alpine F1 has extensive experience in this area. At what stage the project is and when we can expect concrete results, however, has not yet been reported.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
