Kjeld Nuis, a Netherlandish professional skier and twice champion of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, has managed to achieve a record-setting acceleration of 93 km/h (57.8 mph) at a lake in Lapland. The new world record is courtesy of a Seat Ateca CUV that assisted the sportsman by dragging a specially designed aerodynamic shield ahead of him.
Prior to the race, constructors had to figure out the best shape for an air splitter that would leave a low-pressure corridor behind. In the end, they settled on a flexible rubber skirt shape. The shield turned out to be as high as the skier himself. It was attached to the towing hook of a Seat Ateca SUV piloted by famous racer Ms. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky.
It was the very first attempt that resulted in the new world record. Kjeld Nuis had no problem accelerating until he was going at 93 km/h. ‘It seemed to be as though I were hovering over the ice, and when I left the slip stream in the end of the run I was literally hurled back by all the sudden air resistance!’ he commented after the attempt.
Under normal conditions, skiers can generally expect accelerations reaching 50 or 60 km/h (31-37 mph). Ninety percent of the muscular effort goes into resisting the opposing air stream. This explains the new high score: a powerful utility vehicle neutralized most of the air stream for the runner, enabling him to apply his muscular strength with greater efficiency.
The original Seat Ateca 4WD Concept debuted at the Geneva show in 2015 and went into production a year afterwards. The Spanish model lineup ships with a variety of engines rated anywhere between 116 and 300 hp (87 to 224 kW).
Photo: tportal.hr