N

othing can prepare you for meeting

the Princess R35 prototype in the

fl esh. Photos and some short video

clips of the boat have been doing the

rounds on the internet for a couple

of months but sitting in a berth at

Kingpoint in Plymouth, surrounded

by the usual mix of marina inhabitants,

it looks out of this world. It has a menacing, almost gunboat

profi le and the bright ‘camoufl age’ hull wrap is extraordinarily

whacky for a company that is generally rather reserved. But

hell, this thing tears up the rulebook for breakfast, so why hide

its light beneath a bushel? It stands out like a shire horse at Crufts.

As well as the spy shots and video snippets, rumours have also

been circulating online about the technology the R35 will harness.

BAR Technologies has been involved in its development, that

much is certain, but exactly what the team behind Ben Ainslie’s

foiling AC45 America’s Cup yacht has brought to the party has

been unclear – until now. Imminently, I will plonk myself into

the helm seat, the fi rst person outside of the development team

to do so, and see if one of the most mysterious new boats in years

lives up to its billing.

Before we hit the water though, let’s look at how the R35 came

to be. Like so many projects of this nature, the R35’s conception

began with a phone call. Around 18 months ago, Princess’s

executive chairman Antony Sheriff called his former McLaren

colleague and current CEO of Ben Ainslie Racing Technologies

(BART) Martin Whitmarsh and suggested they should collaborate

on a boat together. Sheriff wanted to target a new breed of Princess

customer with something exciting that moved the game on.

“High-end sportscars in a similar price range to the R35 sell

in their thousands,” Sheriff points out, “but equivalent boats

BRIT PACK

The mule and its
eye-popping wrap

These are the fi rst

accurate renderings

of how the fi nished

R35 will look

Styling by Ferrari

designers Pininfarina

is aimed at a new breed

of younger boat buyers