- Ferrari Hypersail targets the Jules Verne Trophy with a monohull nobody thinks can win.
- A 100-foot foiling yacht will run entirely on solar, wind and kinetic energy.
- Nine patents and a Formula 1 factory stand behind the most ambitious sailing project in years.
Ferrari is building a 100-foot carbon fibre sailing yacht in Italy, powered entirely by renewable energy. The goal is to complete the fastest non-stop crewed circumnavigation of the globe.
The boat, called Hypersail, is a monohull designed to fly on hydrofoils at speeds approaching 50 knots. It is set to launch from a shipyard in Pisa no earlier than September 2026.
The target is the Jules Verne Trophy, which recognises the fastest non-stop crewed voyage around the world.
In January 2026, French sailor Thomas Coville and his crew set the current record of 40 days, 10 hours and 45 minutes aboard the trimaran Sodebo Ultim 3, covering 28,315 miles at an average speed of 27.17 knots.
Every previous holder of the trophy has sailed a multihull, either a catamaran or a trimaran. No monohull has ever seriously challenged for it.
Ferrari chairman John Elkann unveiled the project and drew a direct line to the brand’s recent success at Le Mans, where its 499P hypercar has won the 24 Hours race three consecutive times since returning to endurance racing in 2023.
“Hypersail is a new challenge that pushes us to go beyond our boundaries and expand our technological horizons,” Elkann said. “Designing a yacht for offshore racing is perhaps the ultimate expression of endurance.”
Asked simply why Ferrari would attempt this, his answer was short: “Because we couldn’t not do it.”
Why a monohull at all
The central gamble behind Hypersail is that hydrofoiling technology can allow a single-hulled vessel to match multihulls that are far wider and have historically dominated offshore ocean racing.
Marco Ribigini, the team’s director, told The Athletic that accepted wisdom in yacht design has always pointed to multihulls as the only realistic option for the fastest ocean passages.
Boats in the Ultim trimaran class measure up to 104 feet long and 75 feet wide, giving them enormous leverage on the wind.
Ferrari’s answer to that width is lift. Hypersail is designed to rise out of the water and sail on three contact points: one foil connected to a canting keel, a rudder foil and two lateral foils.
The naval architect behind this configuration is Guillaume Verdier, a French designer widely considered the most influential marine engineer working today.
His involvement has given the project credibility among sailing experts who would otherwise dismiss the idea.
Two-time America’s Cup winner Glenn Ashby, who also holds the wind-powered land speed record at 138.21 mph, is part of the development team.
“We’ve seen how fast the America’s Cup class monohulls go compared to other multihulls,” Ashby told The Athletic. “So, we’re very much hoping that this boat will be able to mix it up with the best big multihulls in the world.”
Ashby also designed the sail plan, which he described as working like a 10-speed gearbox. It uses a reefable twin-skin design to adapt to conditions ranging from Southern Ocean storms to the windless equatorial lulls.
No engine, no fuel, no compromise
There is no combustion engine on board Hypersail. Every system the boat needs, from foil hydraulics to navigation computers, must run on energy generated while sailing.
Around 100 square metres of walkable solar panels cover the front section of the deck and can produce more than 20 kilowatts of electrical power. The boat also harvests wind and kinetic energy to supplement solar generation.
Ribigini explained to The Athletic why carrying fuel was never a realistic option.
“Since this boat has to spend several weeks on the ocean, if you want to propel this boat using fuel, you would have to fill the boat with petrol,” he said. “So, probably would not be the best practical choice to do. That’s why we decided to go electric instead.”
Ferrari has been developing hybrid powertrains for road cars since 2013. The technology from its upcoming fully electric car, the Ferrari Elettrica, is feeding directly into the boat.
The flight control software that keeps Hypersail stable while foiling at speed is derived from Ferrari’s suspension control systems for its high-performance road cars.
Naval architect Verdier sees the project in broader terms.
“It’s a demonstrator of where the future of transport is going,” he told The Athletic. “Aiming for self-sufficiency and showing that it is possible to go around the world with no petrol, no generator, using only renewable sources of energy.”
The physics of going very fast on water
Peak speed for Hypersail is expected to reach around 50 knots. But sustaining a high average over weeks is what the record requires.
One of the main technical obstacles Ferrari faces is a phenomenon called cavitation.
Beyond roughly 42 knots, water moving at such speed around the foils begins to bubble violently. This can cause the foils to lose their grip in the water, similar to a car losing traction.
Managing that boundary without backing off speed will be critical to any Jules Verne attempt.
The boat measures 100 feet long with a beam of around 20 metres and carries a mast 40 metres tall. Ferrari has filed nine patents in developing the project, with six more in progress.
Around 90% of the prototype’s components have been built at the Maranello factory that also produces road cars like the F80 and the Purosangue.
The livery, revealed at Milan Design Week, moves away from Ferrari’s signature Rosso Corsa red. The hull is finished in Grigio Hypersail, a grey that exposes the carbon fibre beneath it.
It is paired with Giallo Fly, the yellow of Modena, the city where Enzo Ferrari was born. Ribigini described that shade as “the second soul of Ferrari.“ It’s the same yellow that was used on the helmet of 1950s Ferrari Formula 1 driver Luigi Musso.
What happens after launch
Giovanni Soldini, one of Italy’s most decorated offshore sailors with more than 30 years of ocean racing experience and over 40 transoceanic crossings, leads the project as team principal.
He has acknowledged that even for him, Hypersail is uncharted territory. Ferrari employs around 20 people full-time on the project. Roughly 80 more are contributing from other departments.
Sea trials will begin after the September 2026 launch. The crew for a Jules Verne attempt is expected to number between eight and 12. However, Ferrari has not set a date for a record bid.
The team believes the boat can cover more than 1,000 nautical miles in 24 hours under the right conditions.
Ribigini has been clear that Hypersail is not a one-off venture. It is intended as a research and development platform. The resulting technology will move in both directions between the boat and Ferrari’s road cars.
The brand that built its name on the sound of petrol engines is now using ocean racing to develop the tools for a quieter, electric future.
