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WIND POWERED LAND SPEED RECORD

SOUTHERN SPARS PROVIDED THE WING THAT PROPELLED THE LAND YACHT

It’s official! The WIND-POWERED LAND SPEED RECORD has been BROKEN

The news broke on Sunday 11th December that Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) had broken the world wind-powered land speed record by sailing their purpose-built land yacht ‘Horonuku’ at an incredible 222.4 km/h across the Lake Gairdner salt flats in South Australia. The record has now been officially ratified by the World Land Sailing Organisation, Federation International de Sand et Land Yachting (FISLY).

  • NEW SPEED
    222.4 km/h
  • NEW RECORD HOLDER
    Emirates Team NZ with ‘Horonuku’
  • NEW RECORD PILOT
    Glenn Ashby
  • NEW RECORD LOCATION
    Lake Gairdner, Australia, 2022
  • PREVIOUS SPEED
    202.9 km/h
  • PREVIOUS RECORD HOLDER
    Ecotricity with ‘Greenbird’
  • PREVIOUS RECORD PILOT
    Richard Jenkins
  • PREVIOUS LOCATION
    Lake Ivanpah, Mojave, California, 2009

The team at Southern Spars New Zealand were heavily involved in this record-breaking mission, with Horonuku’s composite wing being manufactured at our facility in Auckland. The wing, effectively the engine of this 100% wind-powered craft, is 10 metres tall and made from prepreg carbon fibre. Emirates Team New Zealand harnessed Southern Spars’ expertise in high-performance composite manufacturing to develop the wing structure, which was cured at high pressure in one of Southern Spars’ largest advanced autoclaves. The team at SSNZ spent around 2,000 hours meticulously laying up and curing the wing, designed to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

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Glenn AshbyMatteo de NoraMark Hauser
“Emirates Team New Zealand are always motivated to push the boundaries of what can be done. So, when approaching this wind powered land speed world record attempt, we needed a visionary partner with the best facilities available to make this pipe dream a reality. Having worked with Southern Spars on multiple AC campaigns we knew they would deliver, and they absolutely didn’t disappoint, providing the wing that’s propelled us across the salt and into the record books.”
Glenn Ashby
Emirates Team New Zealand
“The Land speed project has been a new opportunity to push the boundaries in aerodynamics, structural forces, construction methods and materials fields. What is often underestimated is that the technologies we explore in challenges like this – or in an America’s Cup campaign – are ultimately the foundation of tomorrow’s technology. Being ahead of the times in technology is what fascinates about all the challenges faced by the team so far.”
Matteo de Nora
Emirates Team New Zealand Principal
“What a ride this campaign has been! It’s been a total pleasure to support our fellow kiwis in achieving this awesome feat and it feels like a momentous victory for us all. It was a huge credit to the team when Emirates Team New Zealand chose us to build the wing, and we knew that we could back it up with our world class facility and highly skilled production team. Clearly, when it comes to harnessing the power of the wind, Southern Spars is the obvious choice!”
Mark Hauser
Founder & Sales Director, Southern Spars
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