Ferrari has unveiled its prototype engine free sailing yacht that is due to hit the water in 2026.
The Ferrari Hypersail project has been designed to blend racing tradition with technological innovation with the yacht serving as a research platform for technologies that could be applied to future road cars and motor-sport projects.
The project is led by round the world sailor and team principal Giovanni Soldini, and aims to establish an ‘outstanding research and development platform’ focused on offshore sailing.
The yacht is a 100ft foiling monohull, designed by French naval architect Guillaume Verdier to have three contact points with the water.
Hypersail is a new challenge that pushes us to go beyond our boundaries.
John Elkann
Features include 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 yacht, currently under construction in Italy, will be entirely energy self-sufficient.
The monohull is designed to operate exclusively using renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and kinetic energy with no combustion engine on board.
Ferrari stresses that 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.
The craft 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.
our top priority is to strike the right balance between the pursuit of extreme performance and maximum reliability.
Giovanni Soldini
“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.”
Giovanni Soldini added: “The meeting of different cultures and advanced technologies is enabling us to build a yacht that is revolutionary in many respects.
“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.”
He continued: “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.”
The project transfers technology from the realm of Ferrari sports cars.
The yacht will sail with a flight control system employing aerodynamic and structural calculation processes designed to ensure performance and safety.
Ferrari has filed nine patents for its solutions, with with six more currently being drafted.
