Ferrari has officially launched the Hypersail project—an ambitious venture into the world of offshore sailing that combines the brand’s rich racing legacy with cutting-edge technology. Named in tribute to Ferrari’s iconic Hypercars, Hypersail embodies the spirit of endurance and peak performance.
Spearheaded by Team Principal Giovanni Soldini, the initiative serves as a dynamic research and development platform focused on advancing offshore sailing. Ferrari’s engineering team, working closely with nautical experts, is deeply involved in every phase—from design and engineering to testing—pushing the boundaries of innovation on the open seas.
The yacht, designed by French naval architect Guillaume Verdier, also represents a great nautical achievement: a groundbreaking 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 in the world 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. 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. “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, Team Principal of Hypersail. “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 Hypersail project embraces open innovation, fostering collaboration between Ferrari, partners, and suppliers to advance technologies in aerodynamics, energy efficiency, and power management. Drawing from Ferrari’s automotive expertise, the yacht features a flight control system adapted from sports car technology to ensure high performance and safety during nonstop ocean voyages. The project has already resulted in nine patents, with six more in progress, highlighting a two-way innovation exchange between Ferrari’s nautical and automotive developments.
The Hypersail monohull is fully powered by renewable energy—solar, wind, and kinetic—with no combustion engine on board. All onboard systems must generate and manage energy autonomously during sailing. Achieving complete energy independence while maintaining high performance in extreme conditions required meticulous energy optimization and resource management—tackling a challenge once thought impossible.
