Corporate News

Why Is Mercedes-Benz Riding the Waves

Words John Clark | November 03, 2014
A joint venture between Mercedes-Benz, Corticeira Amorim and Polen Surfboards gave birth to a cork missile surfboard
Words John Clark November 03, 2014

A joint venture between Mercedes-Benz, Corticeira Amorim and Polen Surfboards gave birth to a cork missile surfboard. Mercedes-Benz Portugal has just delivered a new surfboard to Garrett McNamara entirely made of almost entirely from Portuguese cork, a project done in partnership with Corticeira Amorim.

Mercedes-Benz introduces a new surfboard

Mercedes-Benz introduces a new surfboard

One year after announcing the spectacular “MBoard 1.0”, McNamara gets ready to surf the monsters at Praia do Norte with a cork surfboard, named “MBoard 2.0.”

“The virtues of cork such as its high durability and flexibility make cork surfboards sufficiently strong to withstand the impact of huge waves,” explains Garrett McNamara.

“As Portugal is the world’s largest producer of cork, it makes perfect sense to use this material to produce a high-performance board to ride the legendary waves off the coast of Nazaré.”

GMAC believes “these surfboards will be the benchmark in terms of technology for those surfing giant waves” and that they are ready for the power of Nature. Next goal: the 100-foot challenge.

The three companies shaped what they believe to be “the perfect balance among a board’s weight, flexibility and speed to enable Garrett to challenge the formidable waves of the famous Nazaré Canyon.”

In 2013, the Hawaiian, 47, rode gigantic waves of Nazaré at 62.4 km/hour (38.7 mph), on a surfboard equipped with a built-in telemetry system. Garrett McNamara is the current world-record holder for the largest wave ever surfed.