Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any more bizarre, Ferrari, the Italian institution built on screaming V12s, the colour red, and making grown men weep at the sight of a prancing horse, has decided to conquer the oceans. No, they haven’t just slapped their logo on a Riva speedboat for a quick cash-grab. That would be too simple, too… predictable. Instead, in a move dripping with the kind of audacious hubris we’ve come to expect, they’ve unveiled the “Hypersail,” a project so ambitious it borders on self-parody.
The name itself, “Hypersail,” is a glorious piece of marketing fluff, honouring their “Hypercars” and racing heritage. It’s a 100-foot “flying” ocean racing monohull prototype. Let that sink in. It doesn’t just sail; it flies. Because sailing on the water is apparently for the common man. Designed by French naval architect Guillaume Verdier, a man who clearly laughs in the face of physics, this vessel will stabilize its flight on three points of contact. This sounds less like sailing and more like a terrifyingly expensive, sea-borne tripod that’s one rogue wave away from becoming a submarine.
Leading this aquatic circus is Team Principal Giovanni Soldini, a genuinely legendary sailor brought in, one assumes, to make sure the car engineers don’t accidentally put the steering wheel on the wrong side. Ferrari Chairman John Elkann claims the project “perfectly aligns with Ferrari’s tradition,” drawing inspiration from their Le Mans-winning Hypercar. It’s the “ultimate expression of endurance,” he says. Sure, John. Because what every sailor thinks during a multi-day ocean race is, “I wish this was more like a 24-hour car race, but with more salt and a higher probability of being eaten by a shark”.
Here’s the kicker that pushes this whole venture from merely audacious to certifiably insane: the yacht is designed to be entirely energy self-sufficient. There is no combustion engine on board. None. All the power needed for its complex flight controls, computers, and systems will be generated from solar, wind, and kinetic energy. Ferrari, a company that has made billions celebrating the glorious, deafening symphony of internal combustion, is building a high-performance vessel powered by sunshine and aggressive recycling. The irony is so thick you could caulk a deck with it.
This is, as the press release states, a challenge many had deemed impossible. The project is a hotbed of open innovation and technology transfer, which is corporate jargon for “we’re spending a fortune and have already filed nine patents to prove this isn’t just a mid-life crisis for the brand.”
The Hypersail is being built in Italy, with sea trials set to begin in 2026, at which point we’ll see if this marvel of engineering actually flies or just performs a very costly impression of the Titanic. Is it a groundbreaking R&D platform that will push the boundaries of nautical and automotive tech? Or is it the world’s most elaborate PR stunt? The answer, most likely, is a resounding yes. You could say that it’s a case of high cc’s moving to the high seas!
