Ferrari’s flying sailboat promises to redefine offshore racing. Built from carbon fiber and equipped with 100 m² of solar panels, the Hypersail aims for 50 knots for a record-breaking round-the-world voyage.
Ferrari will launch a carbon flying sailboat before the end of 2026, designed in particular to break records around the world, the car manufacturer announced Tuesday.
This sailboat, called « Hypersail », is a huge yellow and black monohull, 30 meters long, which is expected to benefit from « experience gained in motor racing » , said Flavio Manzoni, design director of the Maranello brand (northern Italy).
Carbon fiber hull
With its carbon hull, it will perch on large fins to reach speeds of 40 to 50 knots (92 km/h) with a crew of around ten, like the America’s Cup yachts. But unlike the boats participating in the world’s oldest sporting competition, the « Hypersail » was designed for long-distance voyages, its designers indicated at a press conference in Ferrari’s Milan boutique, as part of Design Week.
« This is a boat designed to maintain average speeds of 50 knots […], and also to sail in the Southern Ocean, » commented Guillaume Verdier, a highly sought-after naval architect recruited for this challenge by John Elkann, the president of Ferrari. The architect sees among the project’s key advancements the idea of »not having too large a rig, so it can sail around the world, » and « making it a safe boat, capable of righting itself like the IMOCAs, » the 18-meter monohulls of the Vendée Globe.
Covered with solar panels
The hull of the boat has just been completed in Pisa (north). The deck will be almost entirely covered with solar panels (for a total of 100 square meters) capable of moving the asymmetrical fins, and covered themselves with a layer of non-slip material, to allow the sailors to move around on it.
The energy produced (20 kilowatts) will also power a complex electronic system, inspired by Ferrari cars, and potentially capable of automatically piloting the sailboat, explained Enrico Voltolini, the engineer who recently replaced Italian sailing star Giovanni Soldini as head of the project . « The French have always been pioneers in round-the-world voyages across the oceans, » declared Mr. Voltolini. « We Italians, being Mediterranean, have stayed closer to the coast. But with the help of a Frenchman who designed the boat, we intend to beat them. »
source : l’independant
