The new Luna Rossa is born

The wait is over. The new AC75 of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team has seen the light, gliding into the water today, 25 years from the launch of the first Luna Rossa. The veil of mystery surrounding the vessel of America's Cup no. 10 of the Italian challenger has been lifted, exciting fans who are ready to cheer the only boat that will carry the tricolor flag in the 37th America's Cup.

Sharp and powerful lines, exalted by the metallic “Metal K” colour, characterize the look of the foiling AC75 which will compete in Barcelona in the coming months. Luna Rossa's intentions are already obvious in its appearance: to proudly challenge its adversaries and take the “Auld Mug” home. The new boat, in addition, incorporates the design solutions, technological innovations and experimental materials tested over the last two years on the LEQ12 prototype.

Luna Rossa is the highest expression of technological innovation applied to sailing. Thanks to the team's two co-title sponsors, Prada and Pirelli, and all the other leading companies – Italian and foreign – that chose to support the challenge of the 37th America's Cup, this boat sees the convergence of different entrepreneurial worlds, blending the reciprocal knowhow to guarantee the most advanced innovations and methodologies in every sector.

“What you see entering in the water today is the tenth America's Cup hull to be baptized with the name “Luna Rossa”, a name which has marked important stages of my life and has become a sailing icon in the world”, commented Patrizio Bertelli, President of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team. “It is a beautiful and radical boat, which represents a step forward in terms of design and technology, the fruit of an incredible collective effort, and I congratulate the team at every level for the result achieved”.

Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice Chairman of Pirelli, said: “Luna Rossa is a synonym of technological excellence, competition and the Italian character. For us it is an honour to associate the name Pirelli with such a great project, born from the passion for sailing and the America's Cup, a trophy that brings together sporting challenge and innovation. The boat and the crew have the potential to excite us and compete for the Cup. I send them all my best wishes for fair winds”.

Conceived by the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli design team and built at the Persico Marine shipyard in Nembro, Luna Rossa involved its entire design pool (40 people) in the design phase and took over 70,000 work hours from 35 boat builders (between team technicians and those of the shipyard). The construction of the hull and composite components required around 3,500 square metres of carbon fibre (Delta - Preg), applied to various materials. The AC75 has a winged mast (built by the team in Cagliari) 26.5m. high, with a soft wing composed of two twin mainsails plus a bow sail (jib), for a total surface area of approximately 220 square meters. The sails are mainly in Carbon and Dyneema and adopt 3Di North Sails technology. On board there are eight crew members: two helmsmen, two trimmers and four cyclors.

“Today is the most important day of our America's Cup challenge, at last we have before our eyes the results of three years' work “in the dark”, explains Max Sirena - Team Director and Skipper of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, “I want to thanks first of all Patrizio Bertelli, without whose vision all this would not exist, Miuccia Prada and, obviously, Marco Tronchetti Provera and all our sponsors, collaborators and suppliers for supporting us in this important challenge. Luna Rossa is a boat that Italy should be proud of, because it incorporates so many of our country's highest qualities and abilities and is an ambassador for Made in Italy in the world.”

The sea launch of the AC75 took place in Cagliari at the team's base at the Molo Ichnusa. Once again the godmother was Miuccia Prada, who broke the traditional bottle on the boat's bow baptizing it Luna Rossa. And so… may she have fair winds!