Twenty-five years after the launch of the first Luna Rossa (in 1999), the Italian challenger’s America’s Cup hull No.10 first touched water today: it is the AC75 foiling monohull with which Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli will participate in the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona, Spain.
The sea christening of the only Italian boat in the 2024 edition took place at 1:20 pm local time at the Molo Ichnusa base and was attended by Miuccia Prada, Patrizio Bertelli (President of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli), Marco Tronchetti Provera (Executive Vice President of Pirelli, co-title sponsor of the team), Max Sirena (Skipper and Team Director of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli) and Agostino Randazzo (President of Circolo della Vela Sicilia). Special guests of the event were sponsors, partners, suppliers and local authorities as well as TV and media representatives. Alongside these were, of course, all the team members who contributed to the birth of this extraordinary boat which, starting from today, will also bring Oackley on board as its new Technical Performance Partner.
After the traditional blessing by Monsignor Baturi, archbishop of Cagliari, Miuccia Prada broke the bottle of Cantine Ferrari’s Maximum Blanc de Blancs on the vessel’s bow, christening her “Luna Rossa”. The sharp and powerful lines of the AC75, enhanced by a bold metallic “Metal K” livery, are a statement of intent and hint at the enormous effort behind this radical project that incorporates the design solutions, technological innovations and experimental materials tested over the past two years on the LEQ12 prototype.
Conceived by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s design team and built at the Persico Marine shipyard in Nembro, Luna Rossa involved its entire pool of engineers and naval architects (40 people) in the development and executive phase that required more than 70,000 hours of work by 35 boat builders (between team and technicians). Approximately 3,500 square meters of pre-preg carbon fiber (Delta-Preg) were used for the construction of the hull and composite components. The AC75 mounts a 26.5 m. mast (built by the team in Cagliari) with a soft wing composed of twin mainsails plus a headsail (jib), for a total sail area of about 220 sq. m. The sails are mainly made of Carbon and Dyneema and manufactured by means of 3Di North Sails technology. There are eight crew members on board: two helmsmen, two trimmers and four cyclors.
In a perfect synthesis of form and function, Luna Rossa is the highest expression of technology applied to yachting. Thanks to the numerous leading companies – Italian and international – that have chosen to join the team in its challenge for the 37th America’s Cup, excellences from different business worlds have converged on this boat, working in synergy and combining their mutual know-how to guarantee Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli the most advanced innovations and methodologies in each sector.
En español | Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli bota su barco número 10
