The U.S. Paralympic wheelchair racing team is about to get a major boost from BMW North America, as the automotive company has designed the most aerodynamic wheelchair to date. This is the company’s first foray into crafting this sort of vehicle, and they did so with an open mind as to the structure of the wheelchair.
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The two biggest changes that BMW made to the traditional racing wheelchair were a totally redesigned chassis, or framework, along with making the entire structure of the wheelchair out of carbon fiber. In general, the chair is lighter, more durable and less flexible than the average racing wheelchair.
Additionally, each seat is custom made for the racer, and special gloves are 3D-printed for each member of the team. This differs from the aluminum base that most wheelchairs are made out of, which is a lot more flexible and less rigid than carbon fiber. And before this, most wheelchair racers made their own gloves, which were quite a bit heavier than these ones.
From concept to reality—we’re proud to unveil the first-ever #BMWRacingWheelchair. #TeamUSA #RoadtoRio pic.twitter.com/gwaShz04sZ
— BMW USA (@BMWUSA) April 27, 2016
The wheelchair racing team has BMW’s Designworks team to thank for their new chairs—the same group that designed a new and improved bobsled for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
BMW will deliver the wheelchairs to the racers in about six weeks. So, the athletes will be able to test out just how fast these new chairs are, before they debut in the Rio Paralympics in September.
Thus far, wheelchair racers appear to be excited about this new piece of equipment.
Josh George, a former gold medalist in the 100 meters, seemed excited at the prospect of receiving it, but not only because it will help him with his craft.
“It’s the coolest-looking piece of equipment I’ve ever seen,” he said of the new design.