pininfarina unveils persico F70, a foiling 'hyperboat' engineered to fly on water

persico F70 MARRIES HIGH PERFORMANCE WITH COMFORT

the latest images of a 70ft ultra-fast foiling yacht called ‘persico F70’ have been revealed. first announced in march 2021, the ‘hyperboat’ project is being developed by italian yachtbuilders persico marine in collaboration with carkeek design partners and pininfarina nautical.

unlike most foiling yachts, which are designed purely for speed, persico F70 combines high performance with luxury interiors, meaning it can be used for both racing and leisurely daysailing. the mid-range size of the boat also makes it easier to manage, requiring a crew of just 2-4 people according to persico.

the daysailer-cum-racer is made of carbon composite and weighs just 10,000 kg. regarding its performance, the F70 is designed and engineered ‘to fly on water’. despite no exact top speed figures, persico says the model outperforms 100-footers and can ‘fly’ at just 10 knots.

images courtesy of pininfarina nautical

‘a boat without precedent’

‘integrating full-foiling regatta performance, excellence in design and daysailer features is a fascinating challenge, which we have shared with carkeek design partners and pininfarina,’ says marcello persico, president of persico marine. ‘and, we are very pleased to collaborate once again with pininfarina after our successful wallycento in 2017. creating a great team is the best lead-in to the market for a boat capable of making history, as the persico F70 project is proposing to do. a craft of this type requires a design of the highest level, great technology, and construction expertise, and the best designers: we have built a solid partnership to attain this ambitious goal.’

‘the F70 will be a boat without precedent,’ comments shawn carkeek, lead designer of carkeek design partners. ‘the foils, derived from those on the IMOCA60, will be aided by elevators on the rudder blade, just like those on the AC75s. this way the boat can reach full flight mode with only 10 knots of wind, without resting on the downwind side of the hull. what’s more, the foils will be completely retractable to allow the F70 to dock easily, and the project will avail itself of the same CFD and VPP software used on both the IMOCAs and the AC75s.’

the F70 is designed by italian yachtbuilder persico in collaboration with carkeek design partners and pininfarina

‘a yacht as stylish as it is high-tech’

pininfarina collaborated with carkeek design partners on the exterior and interior design of the F70 with the goal of making the yacht innovative and groundbreaking among 70-footers, not only for its full-foiling technology but also for its style and elegance.

daniele mazzon, chief yacht designer of pininfarina nautical, explains, ‘for the design of the persico F70, we wanted to draw inspiration from the AC75s to create a yacht as stylish as it is high-tech. as the F70 is a high-performance boat that flies above the surface of the water, an aerodynamics study was essential to ensure exceptional performance. on the persico F70, we have combined the hydrodynamic expertise of carkeek with the aerodynamic know-how we have developed over the last 50 years in our own wind tunnel. indeed, the interiors are open space with a series of structural rings, creating a perspective illusion that emphasizes the length and width of the boat and expresses a dual passion for daysailing and racing performance.’

for the full F70 spec, visit the persico website here.

the model features a retractable foil system for easy docking