Ferrari has revealed its Hypersail project, a sporting challenge in the world of sailing that blends racing tradition with technological innovation.
Led by Team Principal Giovanni Soldini, Hypersail aims to establish a research and development platform focused on offshore sailing. To explore new frontiers in technology and innovation, the project draws upon the expertise of the Ferrari team, which, in close collaboration with specialised nautical experts, is directly involved in the entire cycle of conception, engineering, and testing.
The yacht, designed by French naval architect Guillaume Verdier, also represents a great nautical achievement: a ground-breaking 100-foot flying ocean racing monohull prototype that will stabilise its flight on three points of contact.
Verdier’s most notable innovation is the use of a canting keel as the support for one of the foils, with the other two contact points being a foil on the rudder and, alternately, the two lateral foils. The 100-foot yacht will also be the first of its size to be entirely energy self-sufficient.
Currently under construction in Italy, the yacht is scheduled to launch in 2026, after which it will undergo its initial sea trials.
“Hypersail is a new challenge that pushes us to go beyond our boundaries and expand our technological horizons,” said Ferrari Chairman John Elkann. “At the same time, it perfectly aligns with Ferrari’s tradition, drawing inspiration from our Hypercar, three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Designing a yacht for offshore racing is perhaps the ultimate expression of endurance,” he added. “Giovanni Soldini is a key pillar of this project, not only because of his achievements as a sailor but also his unmatched experience in yacht development and construction.
“The excellent teamwork between Ferrari and Guillaume Verdier is bringing into existence a unique boat that will fly across the oceans, representing a real opportunity for innovation in both the nautical and automotive worlds.”
“I’m happy and honoured to be part of this adventure,” said Giovanni Soldini. “An exciting challenge, backed by a truly unique team that brings together Ferrari’s excellence and the expertise of specialists in ocean sailing design.
“The meeting of different cultures and advanced technologies is enabling us to build a yacht that is revolutionary in many respects,” he added. “From a nautical perspective, it’s innovative in both its structure and how it will fly; on the systems front, Ferrari’s contribution is driving the development of on-board control technology that has never been seen before.
“To prepare as well as we can for the variability and force of the phenomena and conditions encountered at sea, our top priority is to strike the right balance between the pursuit of extreme performance and maximum reliability.”
To drive innovation and create value, the Hypersail project is grounded in open innovation, aiming for close collaboration and the exchange of ideas and external expertise between Ferrari, its partners, and suppliers. This approach is used to develop systems in the areas of aerodynamics, energy efficiency, power management, and kinetic energy.
Technology transfer from the realm of Ferrari sports cars is also central: the yacht will sail with a flight control system developed from the expertise acquired in the automotive sector – employing aerodynamic and structural calculation processes designed to ensure performance and safety for a monohull that will soar across the ocean for extended periods – with no stopovers, no pit stops, and no external support of any kind.
The search for entirely original solutions applied to the nautical world led to the filing of nine patents, with six more currently being drafted. The contribution that the pursuit of maximum performance at sea is making to the evolution of the Prancing Horse’s sports cars is equally significant.
The monohull is designed to operate exclusively using renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and kinetic energy. There is no combustion engine on board, and all the power required to run the control and motion systems for the foils, keel and rudder, as well as the full suite of on-board computers and instruments, must be generated autonomously while under sail.
Reconciling total energy autonomy with the excellent performance expected from a yacht of this size, in the variable and often extreme conditions it will encounter, necessitates a careful energy balance and rigorous resource management. This has involved optimising the efficiency of every individual component and energy generation system. A challenge that many had previously deemed impossible.
