I'm fascinated by the 100-foot-long Ferrari Hypersail project because it's a radically new type of hydrofoiling offshore sailboat that's sits at a unique confluence of speed, style, design, engineering, performance, and endurance. And oh yeah, it just so happens to be propelled by the full might of one of the most powerful high-performance brands on Earth -- Ferrari.
You can see why I'm interested right? I bet you are too. Now, I've been following this high-performance offshore race boat project that's guided by Matteo Lanzavecchia and Marco Guglielmo Ribigini of the Ferrari Tech Team, the Ferrari Design Studio led by Flavio Manzoni, and naval architect Guillaume Verdier since the beginning. The boat is still under construction. But they are making serious progress. And the team had a lot to say when the boat's new livery was unveiled at the Ferrari Flagship Store in Milan during Milan Design Week recently.
Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari Chief Design Officer, says, "Hypersail represented an unexpected opportunity for the Ferrari Design Studio; a challenging objective due to its complexity, which allowed us to extend our creative research into a context different from our usual one. In reality, the Design Studio is not new to this kind of endeavor. In the past, the experience gained in racing car projects, one of the most technologically advanced sectors, has encouraged exploration into more complex fields, allowing us to test ourselves and expand our expertise."
"Hypersail is a vessel unique in scale and technology, engineered to deliver peak performance within an environment as singular and unpredictable as the ocean. This is achieved through its core concept: foiling, made possible by a sophisticated control system, leveraging the expertise gained from our automotive developments, and powered by energy recovered from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and motion," explains Matteo Lanzavecchia, Head of Vehicle Engineering at Ferrari and Chief Technology Officer of Hypersail.
"The strategic choice of a monohull arises from the synergy between maximum hydrodynamic and aerodynamic efficiency. Throughout every design phase, the collaboration with the Design Studio allowed us to accentuate and refine Hypersail's forms and features, establishing it as a definitive benchmark of design and innovation."
And of course in developing the vessel's livery, the Ferrari Design Studio sought to bridge Hypersail's design with the brand's aesthetic heritage by featuring the iconic Modena yellow Giallo Fly that was recently unveiled during Milan Design Week.
As I've just learned, Giallo yellow has historically represented Ferrari's "second soul" that was originally inspired by Fiamma Breschi, a friend of Enzo Ferrari and widow of driver Luigi Musso who was famous for his yellow helmet; Giallo Fly color first appeared on the Ferrari 275 GTB in the 1960's.
Needless to say, I'm excited to take this radical new boat out for a "test flight" as soon as possible. But I'm even more excited to see how it could compare to the fully-foiling, 110-foot-long catamaran Edmond de Rothschild Gitana 18 that's testing off Lorient, France now.
Could be a clash of the titans.