Ferrari is well established in the world of motorsports and performance cars, but the Maranello-based brand will soon also enter the world of sailing, as it recently revealed details about: Hypersail, an innovative and world-first 100-foot self-sufficient racing monohull, that quite literally flies across the water. Think of it as Ferrari’s endurance-racing ethos, seen in the triumphant 499P Le Mans Hypercar, reborn as a carbon-fiber ocean-going vessel, all without burning a single drop of fuel. It will feature two-steering wheels and have roo for more than eight people on board.
Now, this isn’t the first time that the Ferrari name has been associated with the Nautical world. Back in 1952, the Timossi Arno XI hydroplane, powered by a 4.5-liter Ferrari V12 derived from a 375 F1, set a 150.19 mph water-speed record in its category (800kg class) that still stands to this day. Decades later, in the ‘90s, Ferrari designers collaborated with Riva, the legendary Italian yacht and boat builder and lifestyle partner of Ferrari’s Formula 1 team. It led to the Riva Ferrari 32, a gleaming-red speedboat with Ferrari-style and twin BMW V8s, which each produce 390 horsepower. With Hypersail, however, it will be the first time that a Prancing Horse will appear on a hull; and what a hull it is.
Designed by French naval architect Guillaume Verdier, best known for his America’s Cup and innovations in the Vendée Globe, the Hypersail introduces a radical configuration for a monohull: a canting keel, which also supports one of the boat’s three foils, alongside a foil on the rudder and alternating lateral foils. At high speeds, the yacht rises up almost entirely out of the water, resulting in considerably less drag, which in turn increases efficiency.
This is what separates the Hypersail from anything else on the ocean today. While America’s Cup yachts already employ foiling monohulls, they are a lot shorter, lighter and are primarily optimized for in-shore match racing. The Hypersail, meanwhile, is being designed as a deep-ocean endurance vessel, engineered to maintain stable flight for thousands of nautical miles, amid unpredictable offshore conditions. No America’s Cup boat is really designed for that kind of range or resilience.
Also, when compared to multihulls, such as trimarans or catamarans, which rely on beam width for stability, Hypersail’s narrow monohull form factor is more hydrodynamically efficient. While multihulls are extremely stable on flat water, they’re also more vulnerable offshore and can capsize in rough conditions, owing to their rigidity. As for the Hypersail, it features an active foil control system and a dynamically shifting keel. Derived from Ferrari’s simulation and vehicle dynamic expertise, it offers the self-righting stability of a monohull, but with the lift and speed of a multihull, without added wind resistance or structural drag.
As previously mentioned, all this will be accomplished without relying on any fossil fuels. Where Ferrari’s all-electric cars have taken a back seat for now, when it comes to Hypersail, it will be the first 100-foot monohull of its kind, to be entirely energy self-sufficient, and will be powered by nothing but renewable sources of energy like wind, solar as well as kinetic energy. Every watt needed to adjust the foils, power the sensors and run the computer systems will be harvested from the environment, while sailing nonstop and unsupported through some of the world’s most unforgiving waters.
Ferrari says that this is a platform of open innovation and a long-term research and development testbed. Giovanni Soldini, one of Italy’s most seasoned sailors and team principal of the Hypersail, has called this project a revolutionary boat in many respects, as it presents the chance to blend Ferrari’s control systems and aerospace-grade simulation tools, with the harsh lessons that can only be learnt on the open sea.
Ferrari chairman, John Elkann, sees Hypersail as more than a yacht. With nine patents filed so far and more underway, he added this was an opportunity to innovate in both the nautical and automotive worlds. He further added that it broadens the brand’s racing DNA, as is the case with endurance racing that has been a part of the Ferrari story since the very day founder Enzo Ferrari founded the company.
The goal here isn’t just to build a boat, but two-way technology transfer, where insights from the project help push Ferrari’s sports cars to the next level. Construction of the Hypersail is already underway in Italy, with the launch and sea trials set for 2026.
Source: Ferrari