Pratt & Miller, the Michigan-based engineering firm that runs the Corvette Racing program, has been sold to Oshkosh Corporation for $115 million.
Oshkosh Corporation, which operates out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is a manufacturer of industrial vehicles and equipment. The acquisition will give Oshkosh access to Pratt & Miller’s engineering expertise in areas such as software, artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous and electric vehicle systems, among more, although Pratt & Miller will continue to operate independently of Oshkosh and the other brands in its portfolio.
“We look forward to welcoming the Pratt Miller team to Oshkosh Corporation,”Oshkosh Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer John Pfeifer said in a statement. “We believe combining Pratt Miller’s engineering expertise with Oshkosh’s innovation and operational strengths will enable us to better serve customers and position our Company for growth.”
The acquisition includes all elements of Pratt & Miller’s business, including its motorsports division. The company’s racing operations, which include the factory-backed Corvette Racing program and Camaro GT4.R customer race car, will be unaffected by the sale. Pratt & Miller also lends Chevy some engineering talent for its NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar Series efforts, including for advanced vehicle and aerodynamic testing and simulation solutions.
Pratt & Miller was founded by Gary Pratt and Jim Miller in 1989 and has been in charge of the Corvette Racing program since 1999. The engineering company also helped develop other GM race cars and programs, including the Pontiac GTO.R for the Grand American Rolex Series and the GT3-spec Cadillac ATS-V.R.
While Pratt & Miller is well-known for its motorsports endeavors, it is also heavily involved in the development of tactical and combat vehicles as well as next-generation military prototypes. Similarly, Oshkosh is involved in the development and production of various military vehicles and mobility systems through its Oshkosh Defense brand.
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Comments
Idk if this is good for the vette racing program with drivers retiring and Pratt and miller gone.
Let’s hope it’s just a change of ownership as they stated, either way, I’m sure GM has a heavy foot in decision making when it involves the Corvette racing program.
The race team is fine. Pratt and Miller were into much more than just racing. They do a lot of engineering work and even military contract work you hear little about.
The racing teams are the high profile public arm that everyone sees it is the engineering arm that makes th3 bulk of the money.
Great, can’t wait to get a racing version of the Oshkosh M1070A1 to compete with the rally-winning KAMAZ in the DAKAR.
It would be nice to see an American truck brand take on the Dakar.
Had to know something might happen here when GM established their own North Carolina technical center for racing, created a Defense division located in NC to be run by Mark Kent, and announced that Hendrick would be doing some military vehicle assembly. Plus, Gary, last of the old Protofab legacy, has been around a long time and may want to step away completely. Doug Fehan is retiring as well. The race team may live on for now there, but off shoot business like the resto mod shop may not last. On the bright side for young GM engineers they may have more in house opportunities to work in racing well into the future again.