Porsche: Speed 100 is the goal on the Big Waves
HIGH OUT Together with Porsche Engineering, Sebastian Steudtner, current world record holder in big wave surfing, has scientifically analyzed and optimized his surfboard.
Sebastian Steudtner currently holds the world record in big wave surfing with a wave height of 26.21 meters. With improved equipment, he wants to go even higher in the future. Now, together with Porsche Engineering, the athlete has hydro- and aerodynamically optimized a surfboard using scientific methods from automotive engineering. The board, named Caçador RS, was presented in Cascais, Portugal, under realistic conditions.
Surf speeds up to 100 km/h
With the help of the latest simulation methods and wind tunnel validations, the behavior of the surfboard in the water and the aerodynamics of the board and surfer were improved, among other things. In this way, Steudtner wants to achieve higher speeds on the board.
Currently, 70 to 80 km/h are possible, but in order to ride even bigger waves, the surfer has to be faster so that the wave doesn't roll over him. By optimizing the overall system of Sebastian's surfboard, the air resistance could be reduced significantly. As a result, speeds of up to around 100 km/h are now possible.
Marcus Schmelz, project manager at Porsche Engineering, says: "To reduce air resistance and stabilize the board, patented attachments - known as aero edges - were fitted to both the nose and the tail of the board."
The high-tech hunter
The name Caçador RS is a combination of the Portuguese word Caçador (hunter) and the Porsche-typical abbreviation RS, which is given to particularly sporty models. With the new surfboard, Steudtner can now set out on the hunt for the next world record.
Sebastian Steudtner: "Together with the Porsche engineering team, we spent two years intensively researching, testing, and developing. The result is a faster and more stable board that allows me to get into even bigger waves."
The current prototype is equipped with cameras, control and storage units. Sensors are also used to support driver assistance systems in vehicle development. The first reliable data will be collected from fall of this year, when the next big wave season starts in Nazaré, Portugal.
