Pete Brock—of BRE Datsun and 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe fame—has designed an aerodynamic all-aluminum race car trailer that he’s been selling to weekend racers, especially folks with vintage Porsches. Problem is, Brock has been unable to keep up with the demand. “By March of this year,” said Brock, “we had sold out our entire 2011 build capacity.”
So what does the famed designer do? He has turned to race car builders Riley Technologies of North Carolina to build them. It’s a bit of a challenge to build the semi-monocoque Aerovault, explains Brock, because it does not use conventional motor home construction techniques. In fact, its 1/8-in. aluminum skin is structural, and the trailer itself has more in common with a race car than a traditional trailer.
“For those reasons, no U.S. trailer manufacturers we approached were interested in building it” explains Brock. “From every perspective it’s a far superior trailer for users but it takes more time, requires more craftsmanship and consequently, costs much more to build. They didn’t have the skills nor understand the value. It was frustrating. Then a light bulb went off in my head when I saw Bill Riley at the Sebring race in March.”
“BRE approached us about building their trailers and we saw some good synergy”, said Bill Riley, Vice President of Riley Technologies. Added Ron McMahon, Vice President and CFO: “We’re an engineering company and it’s a well-engineered trailer. Where other manufacturers must have scratched their heads at the thought of fully skinning the underside of a trailer, we get it. I’ve towed trailers thousands of miles and as I went over every square inch of this trailer, I was impressed with all the well thought out details. We’re very pleased to be able to join BRE in satisfying the demand of car enthusiasts with yet another quality, well-engineered product.”
With the Aerovault’s aerodynamic efficiency and superb handling, Brock says a super-sized tow vehicle is not required. Fuel efficiency, naturally, is also a big concern. “Why tow around all this dead air space”, says Brock of traditional trailers.
Production of the Aerovault has begun at Riley’s facility in Mooresville, North Carolina, with trailers being delivered to their owners at the end of January.
For more information, view the Aerovault brochure at http://www.bre2.net.
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