Luna Rossa builds AC 75 from Persico: what are the advantages of this choice?

The focus of the America’s Cup teams these weeks is the construction of the new AC 75s, on which the near-final choices in terms of design and engineering have now been made. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli is not to be outdone, and there is great anticipation to see what boat will come out of the Italian design team, which has the task of improving on what was done in the 20-21 edition when it was Team New Zealand’s slower boat that prevented the last step toward the America’s Cup from being taken.

Luna Rossa chose for the construction of the AC 75 once again Persico Marine in Nembro, where the two previous AC 75s had already been built. What benefits will come from this choice of contracting a shipyard like Persico to do the construction?

AC 75 – Luna Rossa’s Choice

As is well known, the Leq 12, the scale prototype of the AC 75, Luna Rossa built it almost entirely at home in a “home made” yard. On the 75 the strategy is different, for several reasons. As we have often written, the one thing you cannot buy in the America’s Cup is time. Outsourcing the boat construction to Perch Marine means that the team can have the hull in less time, and with less manpower, than “doing it in house” on their own.

There would be no shortage of boat builders and technical knowledge in Red Moon to set up a boatyard where they could build the boat themselves. But it would require a deployment of men, time and means that would not be optimal for the America’s Cup campaign.

Better to entrust it to a shipyard hyper specialized in composite work such as Persico Marine, which is used to making superyachts as well, and which is also joined by Luna Rossa’s designers and project managers who are following the various phases of the boat’s construction.

Luna Rossa – When does AC 75 arrive?

In the meantime, the rest of the team, both sailors and design, can still work on the Leq 12, testing additional design or engineering solutions, which could still come in handy on the AC 75. Although the new boat is already under construction, there may be several details that need to be added or changed during construction. And then you can always work on foil shapes, several have been tested in recent months on the Leq 12, and development will still go on during 2024.

Ultimately, the decision to outsource the construction of the AC 75 to Persico Marine is the best choice Luna Rossa could have made on this aspect: we will presumably see the new AC 75 in the late spring of 2024, and in the meantime the team will continue to develop the Prototype to finalize the final design details for the boat of the future.

Mauro Giuffrè