This BMW-designed racing wheelchair for the Rio Olympics is like a carbon-fiber spaceship

Looking more like a carbon-fiber spaceship than a piece of racing equipment, a new wheelchair designed by BMW of North America for the United States Paralympic team should give athletes a serious edge in Rio this year.

So what's a good racing wheelchair?

"A fast one," project leader Brad Cracchiola of BMW DesignWorks told Business Insider.

"It's the athletes that win the races. What we want to do is make a chair that transmits their power as best as possible."

Among other elements, that requires chassis stiffness, advanced aerodynamics, and excellent chair fit, Cracchiola said.

BMW has even improved the all-important gloves, traditionally made by hand by the athletes themselves. They are now being 3D printed.

Paralympic gold medal winning athletes Josh George and Tatyana McFadden have already tested prototypes of the new racing wheelchair, and expect to receive their production versions in the coming weeks - just in time to get ready for the games.

"It was lighter - that's what you notice right away - and very stiff," McFadden said.

The new carbon-fiber racing wheelchair is essential if the United States is to stay competitive in the sport, McFadden said. Another carmaker, Honda, has been developing their own carbon-fiber wheelchair for the Japanese national team for about ten years. This is the first time an American company has decided to enter the sport.

"We needed a technology advancement, but with this we are already way ahead," McFadden said.