On the occasion of Milan Design Week, Ferrari Hypersail reveals the livery of its 100-foot flying ocean monohull: innovation, aerodynamics and design research define a new frontier in ocean sailing. Born from a creative process in which the aesthetic language of the Maranello-based company meets the most advanced offshore sailing technology, the project highlights the increasingly deep connection between design, innovation and performance.
Ferrari Hypersail was conceived as an open innovation platform, where diverse expertise merges into a collective process to redefine the boundaries of what is possible and achieve a synthesis of engineering and style: that of the Ferrari Tech Team, guided by Matteo Lanzavecchia and Marco Guglielmo Ribigini, the Ferrari Design Studio led by Flavio Manzoni, and naval architect Guillaume Verdier.
The goal is to transfer into the nautical world the same design and aesthetic spirit that makes Ferrari cars unique: a constant drive toward innovation without ever losing the essence of form.
Performance-driven design
In Hypersail, design is never merely aesthetic, but a direct consequence of function: every volume originates from the interaction between wind, water and speed. As an offshore ocean vessel, aesthetic choices have, from the very beginning, developed within strict boundaries defined by precise aerodynamic and engineering constraints. Performance sets the rules, design transforms them into beauty.
The Ferrari Design Studio, led by Flavio Manzoni, worked in close synergy with Ferrari’s engineering team and naval architect Verdier to translate aerodynamic, hydrodynamic and structural constraints into aesthetic opportunities.
The streamlined silhouette evokes the purity of proportions of the Ferrari Monza SP1/SP2, while the exterior of the coachroof on deck recalls the graphics architecture of the Le Mans-winning Hypercar 499P. The surfaces of the deck and the coachroof itself, developed directly by the Ferrari Design Studio, were designed to ensure maximum technical efficiency, as in the development of every car designed by the Prancing Horse.
Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari Chief Design Officer, commented: “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 endeavour. 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.”
A significant example is the solar panels, integrated into the deck and hull sides. Their positioning was determined through an advanced study of the solar exposure Hypersail will experience during navigation. The panels are walkable and feature a specific grip; they have been integrated with technical fastening systems, clips and dedicated treatments, ensuring maximum freedom of movement for the crew.
“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.”
The livery: Giallo, Ferrari’s second soul
In developing the vessel’s livery, the Ferrari Design Studio sought to bridge Hypersail’s vanguard design with the brand’s aesthetic heritage.
The chosen chromatic response is Nuovo Giallo Fly, a shade of yellow steeped in narrative legacy. Giallo has historically represented Ferrari’s “second soul.” Originally inspired by an intuition from Fiamma Breschi, friend of Enzo Ferrari and widow of driver Luigi Musso, famous for his yellow helmet, Giallo Fly first appeared on the 275 GTB. In the context of Hypersail, the Nuovo Giallo Fly with the name “Fly” creates a seamless linguistic link with the vessel’s foiling nature.
The primary material of the hull is carbon fiber: its grey tone, in a new variant named Grigio Hypersail, defines the livery, serving not only as an aesthetic choice but also as tangible expression of the material’s inherent lightness and performance.
In this innovative project, the interplay between Grigio Hypersail and the iconic Nuovo Giallo Fly creates an aesthetic that is both cohesive and functional. Applied to the cabin, foils and hull lines, the yellow evokes the stylistic codes of the most celebrated Ferrari cars, strongly expressing the brand’s DNA and echoing the distinct color separation of the 512 BB, the first “integrated” livery.
From the hull to the Ferrari logo on the sail, introduced to ensure continuity with a distinctive visual presence of the elongated “F” seen in recent years (the wing of the 2023/2024 F1 car, Lifestyle, the Daytona SP3 donated for the charity auction in Pebble Beach), to details inspired by LaFerrari and the lines of the F80, Hypersail defines a new paradigm between design and function in offshore sailing.
The exhibition at the Ferrari Flagship Store and the lighthouse-installation
During Design Week, from April 22 to 26, the Hypersail project will be showcased through a dedicated exhibition path within the Ferrari Flagship Store in Milan. Embodying the pillars of design, innovation, and performance, the project also features the Hypersail lighthouse-installation, an exclusive sculpture by the Ferrari Design Studio on the HIGHLINE Milano main terrace overlooking Piazza del Duomo. This iconic symbol positions Hypersail as a new symbol of inspiration for the future of technology and performance in offshore sailing.