Infiniti supports unique sail project

Infiniti, the premium automotive brand of Nissan, has always been a committed fan of technical innovations, not only in the automotive sector but in the field of racing sports. In addition to its participation in Formula One (with the Red Bull racing team this year), one of the most refined technical sports, Infiniti keeps focusing on other promising opportunities, too. The company now supports a world-leading Hungarian innovation. 

"The traditional sails have reached their performance limits, so sailboats cannot be driven any faster. Sail is like a wing, where lifting force is generated. This gave birth to the idea to study how aircraft fly, and utilize this knowledge in sailing, as well. There has been no such initiative in Hungary yet,” Géza Soponyai said.
 

The Hungarian innovation matches perfectly to the motto of Infiniti: "inspired performance.” The key benefit of wings is that they do not become distorted, transmit higher pulling force, while the boat tilts less, so keel can be designed lighter. This all result in excellent boat acceleration. Rigid wings were earlier fixed to the mast, which was quite expensive and made storage very complicated. As a world’s first solution, the Hungarian experts eliminated these drawbacks.
 

Géza Soponyai expects to obtain international patent for his innovation and be the proud owner of the fastest sailboat in Hungary. The new design will be first challenged at the Blue Ribbon Regatta, the most prestigious event of the Hungarian sailing life. Organized for the 43rd time in Lake Balaton, the competition is the longest competition for big sailboats in Europe, where sailors shall do approximately 200 kms in the shortest time. The official record is 10 hours 40 minutes.
 

The newly-developed wing will be mounted to a Nautic 12 Racer type racing boat called Avatar. Following land trials, the boat will be set afloat in Lake Balaton, where it will definitely attract people's attention. The wing will rise 19 metres high, and occupy 3 metres when collapsed. The total width will be 4 metres 80 cm but it weighs only 150 kgs due to the carbon-fibre technology. It is made up of 14 pieces of 1 metre 20 cm wide sections; this enables collapsing and precise adjustment. The wing is covered with a super strong plastic foil.