First an engine, then an enormous wing.

This really is going to be the most radical America's Cup in the regatta's 158-year history.

American challenger BMW Oracle Racing unveiled what is believed to be the world's largest wing on Sunday, which it will test as a replacement for a traditional soft-sail rig on its monster trimaran.

Complete with flaps, the wing will tower nearly 190 feet above the deck when it's installed this week. It is longer than the wing of an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner.

"It's an awesome piece of kit," skipper and CEO Russell Coutts said recently after giving The Associated Press a sneak preview of the gigantic foil, which BMW Oracle Racing hopes will give it the edge against defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland.

The wing adds another dimension to an already over-the-top America's Cup, which will feature two of the fastest, most extreme boats ever built for sailing's premier regatta. BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran is 90-by-90 feet, and Alinghi has built an equally immense catamaran.

Both carbon-fiber giants feature engines to run hydraulic systems that trim their sails and move water ballast from one hull to another, a first in America's Cup history.

A long, bitter court fight between the billionaire bosses of the powerhouse sailing teams has led to a rare head-to-head showdown for the oldest trophy in international sports.

The teams met in New York this weekend to try to settle their spat over the venue, with the options for the best-of-three series being Valencia, Spain, or Australia's east coast. They are to report Monday to a New York State Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the ongoing legal tussle.

Racing is scheduled to start Feb. 8.

Late Sunday afternoon, BMW Oracle Racing peeled back the flaps of the tent where the wing was assembled during the last several weeks. The team originally planned to wheel it to the boat starting Sunday evening, but decided to do load tests in the tent. Plans are to install it in the trimaran in the next day or two, depending on the weather.

Full-scale testing is expected to begin later in the week.

The wing was unveiled five days after the trimaran's 200-foot carbon-fiber mast fell and broke in two during a sail on the Pacific Ocean. No crewmen were injured.

If the wing works, it will be used against Alinghi.

Coutts, who has an engineering degree, said the lift coefficient of a wing can achieve two to three times the power of a soft mainsail.

"It's pretty cool," said Coutts, who sailed undefeated through three straight America's Cup matches, the first two with his native New Zealand and then for Alinghi in 2003. Continued...