Azimut joins Ferrari Hypersail with a custom Fly 72 to tow the prototype onto its foils

Before it ever hoists a sail, the Ferrari Hypersail prototype will take its first flights at the end of a towline. In the opening tests, with no rig and no sails, it will be pulled to around 30 knots and helped onto its foils by an Azimut Fly 72 reworked as a tow boat: six tonnes lighter, with double the power and a dedicated tow post.

Named Azimut Fly 72 x Ferrari Hypersail, the boat is the on-water side of an agreement announced in Genoa on 1 October 2026. Azimut Yachts becomes Technical Partner and Official Yachting Partner of Ferrari Hypersail, Ferrari's ocean sailing project. Ashore, the Hypersail Operations Base has moved into Azimut's premises in Livorno.

The yard's R&D Department and Technical Office focused on the power-to-weight ratio of the Fly 72 platform. A weight-saving plan based on extensive use of carbon fibre took 6 tonnes off the overall weight. The structure and systems now integrate 4,000 metric horsepower, double the power of the standard model, in a configuration developed exclusively for Ferrari Hypersail. According to Azimut, the installation called for dedicated engineering.

To connect the boat to the prototype, the hull was fitted with a tow post sized through strength analyses to withstand the static and dynamic loads of towing. The work drew jointly on the yard's naval architecture, structural, systems and outfitting teams.

"We are the only brand in the sector with an independent R&D department entirely dedicated to developing solutions that do not yet exist on the market. It is a choice driven by an insatiable hunger for progress, the same that brought us together with the visionary Ferrari Hypersail project," said Andrea Antichi, General Manager of Azimut Yachts.

"The Ferrari Hypersail project was born from the wish to create something never seen before, bringing Ferrari's racing DNA into the world of ocean sailing," said Lorenzo Giorgetti, Chief Racing Revenue Officer at Ferrari. "We are pleased to have Azimut Yachts alongside us. Its contribution to the custom tow boat and the Livorno Operations Base will support some key activities in the project's development and testing phase."

On board, the layout has been customised for the team led by Enrico Voltolini during the trials. In later phases the Fly 72 can also carry the crew and serve as VIP hospitality, following Ferrari Hypersail from the first tests to its main events around the world.

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