Benetton Formula 1, IBM and Dassault Systemes (NASDAQ: DASTY, Bourse de Paris), announced today that Benetton Formula 1 will design the Mild Seven Benetton Playlife team car exclusively using CATIA Solutions, and will use ENOVIA Solutions for its product lifecycle management. The agreement, initially for five years, represents a change from Benetton’s current CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM supplier, and includes 60 seats of CATIA together with substantial IBM implementation services. The first car to be designed completely with CATIA Solutions will race in the 2002 season.

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Benetton Formula 1 won the World Drivers championship in 1994, both World Drivers and Constructors championships in 1995, and finished third in the Constructors championship in 1996 and 1997.


Benetton selected CATIA and ENOVIA Solutions after an extensive evaluation. “We chose CATIA because of its seamless, end-to-end process coverage and the maturity of the overall solution,” said Pat Symonds, engineering director of Benetton Formula 1. “We will be using the complete range of CATIA capabilities from 3D design, analysis, kinematics, manufacturing and composites design – all of which map the processes which are so critical to successful Formula One car development.”


The configuration of each car evolves significantly during the race season, with the design of 70% of its components being changed to improve performance. Benetton Formula 1 will use ENOVIAVPM to manage the configuration of each car throughout its lifecycle and make this data available through the ENOVIA Portal to everyone in the team – wherever they are located. By exploiting knowledge of car configuration and track data, collected through telemetry, Benetton Formula 1 will be able to optimize the design of the complete car.


“IBM has both a thorough knowledge of our industry and also a strong and innovative vision to optimize our total engineering environment,” said Debbie Edwards, information systems director of Benetton Formula 1. “IBM will help us to achieve our goal of `Knowledge Driven Design,’ which will increase our chance of success on the track. It also demonstrated its ability to execute to make this goal a reality.”

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Commented Scott Hopkins, vice president of large enterprise worldwide sales, IBM Product Lifecycle Management, “We are delighted to welcome Benetton to the growing stable of Formula One teams using CATIA. Our objective now is to help Benetton turns its vision into reality by exploiting the full potential of IBM’s Product Lifecycle Management Solutions.”


“Benetton Formula 1 shares with Dassault Systemes and IBM the same key vision of the Digital Enterprise. Now, Benetton, Dassault Systemes and IBM teams are working together on achieving it with our leading e-business solutions. In addition, Benetton Formula 1 will greatly benefit from its strategic choice in its relationship with its engine provider, as they are now using the same product development system,” said Etienne Droit, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Dassault Systemes.