Engineered4Extremes - In Focus

A boat that flies needs an aircraft designer's instincts and a race engineer's electronics. E1 Series found both in the same team. The RaceBird, raced in the all-electric E1 Series powerboat championship, rises clear of the water on carbon fibre hydrofoils once it reaches 17 knots, reaching a top speed of around 50 knots on a 150kW motor and 35kWh battery pack. Its designer, SeaBird Technologies, is staffed largely by engineers with a Formula E background, applying motorsport's electric powertrain discipline directly to marine racing rather than adapting a traditional powerboat. Testing has taken place in Italy, backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The result looks less like a boat than a wing that happens to touch water.