Hypersail, the Ferrari monohull that aims to beat the round-the-world record

After almost a year from the first rumors, the great project that unites the intentions of John Elkann and Giovanni Soldini under the banner of the prancing horse of Ferrari has finally been presented. Obviously in Maranello with a conference / event in great style. The new hundred feet will be a full foiling boat, able to "sustain" itself in flight in any condition. The most delicious goal is to beat the record of the round the world in less than 40 days with a "monohull". Until now these records were the prerogative of multihulls, the only ones able to maintain frightening daily averages, with over 900 miles traveled in 24 hours. From this monster, it must be said, we expect more. We really have to write "will our heroes succeed?".

The boat looks a lot like those that competed in the America's Cup, with those arms that support the foils and that move. But it's one thing to do these operations in a narrow race course, it's another to do it in the middle of the ocean, among killer whales and shreds of ice: the scenario is totally different. Nobody, or almost nobody, comes to take you home.

The new project is called Ferrari Hypersail , The name Hypersail is a tribute to the racing world of Ferrari and its Hypercars, the maximum expression of performance in the endurance world. The team principal will be Giovanni Soldini . There is not only the goal of records but also that of extensive research in various fields of innovation in the nautical field and beyond.

The boat is designed by the Frenchman Guillaume Verdier, who follows Giovanni Soldini from his first Class 40. So far some large boats with foils have been launched, such as Raven, designed by Marcelino Botin, which however is only “foil assisted” like a gigantic sloop designed by German “Mani” Frers built in Holland.

The absolute novelty conceived by Verdier is that one of the foils will have the canting keel as a support, and the other support points will be a foil on the rudder and, in turn, the two lateral foils. The 100-footer is also the first in the world of this size to be completely self-sufficient in terms of energy. Currently under construction in Italy, the boat will be launched during 2026 and will begin the testing phase with the first tests in the water. The achievement of self-sufficiency is actually quite close with sailing boats that are also working in the field of cruising towards this goal, in the pursuit of "total sustainability". There are already boats that, while sailing, self-produce energy that is accumulated in batteries. The use of generators, with energy production through a methanol/hydrogen system is in any case carbon free.