Ferrari Hypersail Announcement – Gauntlet Thrown with AC75?
Ferrari, world renown for both their sportscars and automobile racing, has officially entered the sailing world for the first time June 25, 2025 with its Hypersail project announcement in Maranello, Italy. The offshore racing optimized, 100-foot foiling monohull design developed in partnership with naval architect Guillaume Verdier is reportedly under construction with a scheduled splash of 2026. Overseeing the project is veteran sailor Giovanni Soldini.
“Hypersail is a new challenge that pushes us to go beyond our boundaries and expand our technological horizons. 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,” said Ferrari Chairman John Elkann in a public statement. The Hypersail program appears connected to the company’s Hypercar program. “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.”
Besides the emphasis on raw offshore sailing performance, Ferrari touts Hypersail’s completely renewable, self-sufficient energy with explicit mention of solar, wind (obviously), and “kinetic energy” which really could mean anything. There will be no combustion engine and all the energy required by the control and motion systems of the foils, keel, and rudder, and on-board electronics will be generated aboard while underway. No shorepower charged electric battery bank necessary—the Hypersail is designed to make her own power during motion. In theory, the engineless Hypersail could even be Race to Alaska (R2AK) compliant.
“I’m happy and honored to be part of this adventure,” said Giovanni Soldini, Team Principal of Hypersail, in a public statement. “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. 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.”
The prototype is designed to move under sail upon three contact points with the water. These three points include the canting keel, which is on a foil and an elevator, the rudder, and one of the two lateral foils. If this seems familiar, that might be because you’ve tuned into the America’s Cup. The New Zealand-made AC75 originally built for Emirates Team New Zealand changed the high performance, offshore racing scene forever with the dawn of a new foiling gold standard for roughly the last decade. Since their introduction AC75s now run the show as the gold medal winning high performance offshore racing sailboats the world over. They reach incredible top speeds of 50 – 55 knots.
Is the Ferrari Hypersail in an inevitable showdown against the AC75 as the king of the regatta? Probably. Although the first details about the Hypersail are scarce, one key design difference right off the bat is that the Hypersail features the aforementioned three points of contact with the water versus the AC75’s two (lateral foil and rudder foil). Hypersail is also 25’ longer which traditionally would contribute to its overall speed—although who knows with these foiling physics. Perhaps the Hypersail’s extra contact point with the elevator foiling keel is necessary to keep all that extra length and sail canvas on the water and not zipping upwards into outer space?
From the sidelines, the announced splash slated for next year speaks to a degree of builder confidence. The Hypersail project has clearly been underway for years leading up to this point. Making a sailboat that both adheres to the strict self-sufficient energy concept and dethrones the AC75 as a no-compromises race winner is still extremely ambitious. Either one of these accomplishments would be game changing. If there is a builder that can do it, Ferrari seems to have the right combination of technological and racing acumen to succeed. For now, the hype about the Hypersail is very real. We’re in for some exciting sport in the years ahead.
