Luxury cars, big wave surfing – Mercedes-Benz is branching out.
If you’re into surfing, you’ll have heard of Garrett McNamara. He’s one of the top big wave-riders in the world, and holds the record for the largest wave ever surfed – some 100 feet (30 metres) high off the coast of Portugal in 2013.
This, then, is someone that tackles the toughest challenges, and so Mercedes-Benz decided he needed the best equipment. The German carmaker has teamed up with McNamara to create two new high-tech surfboards, with which he plans to head back to Portugal to hit up some more monstrous breaks.
This isn’t the first time McNamara and Mercedes have worked together. Last year they created four boards together, but this time around they wanted to push some boundaries. The two boards are very different – the first is made entirely from cork, a renewable material sourced in Portugal. Cork has already proved its worth in the automotive industry, as well as in aviation and textiles, and as a durable but flexible substance it seemed ideally suited for a big wave board.
The second board goes down a completely different route and is inspired by lightweight aviation technology. Thus, it’s been hewn from a foam material commonly used in aircraft wings. Like surfboards, aircraft wings have to be light, flexible but immensely tough, so once again it lent itself well to McNamara’s needs.
The project is still ongoing, but if you happen to be at the beach in Portugal over the next few months and see a crazy man atop suicidal waves, chances are that its Garrett and his new Mercedes.
