Ferrari Is Building A Yacht

Before too long, Ferrari is set to unveil its first electric car, but ahead of that, it’s showing off something else that lacks an internal combustion engine – or any other form of propulsion beyond Mother Nature herself.

It’s called the Hypersail, and if the name didn’t give it away, it’s a yacht. Not the sort with helipads, swimming pools and diamond-encrusted bog seats that pack out the Monaco harbour during the Grand Prix weekend, but the sort designed to go really chuffing fast while propelled by nothing but wind – a racing yacht.

Designed by French naval architect Guillaume Verdier, the Hypersail is officially a “100-foot flying ocean racing monohull prototype.” The hull itself stays aloft of the water, the only contact points with the water being three foils that sprout from the main body of the craft. One of these is supported by a moveable canting keel, something we’re told is a big innovation in the field of racing yachts.

Why exactly has Ferrari decided to branch out into the world of wind-propelled vehicles? Apparently, the Hypersail will effectively act as a rolling (or rather floating) testbed for ideas in aerodynamics, energy efficiency, power management and kinetic energy, things that are only playing a bigger role in the supercar sector.

The technology transfer is mutual, too: apparently, the flight control system on the Hypersail – the aerodynamic and structural elements that allow it to run at high speeds for long periods of time – has been developed using car industry know-how.

Aptly for something that uses nothing but the weather to move about, sustainability is a big consideration, too. All the power required to operate the various moving parts and on-board instruments is to be self-generated by the Hypersail, using a combination of solar, wind and kinetic energy.

Currently under construction in Italy, the Hypersail will set sail for the first time next year – right on time to coincide with Ferrari’s first combustion engine-less thing on four wheels.