MODENA — Maserati enters into a new era of innovation and launches a process for the transfer of technological know-how from the world of cars to the world of high-performance yachts: the engineers of the Maserati Innovation Lab in Modena and Giovanni Soldini, skipper of Maserati Multi 70, take center stage.

A collaboration between people moved by passion, adrenaline and the search for maximum performance, values that have been shared by Maserati and Giovanni Soldini since 2012, the year in which the collaboration began and that goes beyond sponsorship.

Today, the results of a unique study are unveiled. The research project sets out to apply the aerodynamic knowledge and virtual analysis tools usually used when developing cars to the Maserati Multi 70 trimaran, to boost its performances and aerodynamics, and to enhance its flight attributes, by means of special hydrodynamic profiles.

The Maserati engineers analysed the data of Maserati Multi 70's latest races to identify the key parameters of its motion. They made an in-depth study of the craft's current configurations to identify possible areas of improvement using advanced CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations, able to predict the behavior of the complex flows created around the trimaran.

Virtual tools were also used to test different hull streamlining and sheet configurations, on the one hand to reduce the boat's resistance to the air and on the other to increase the efficiency of its sails by controlling extremity phenomena.

The outcome of these studies was a reduction of about 5% in the entire vessel's aerodynamic penetration (Cx) coefficient. What's more, improving the flows around the craft enables the sails to work more efficiently, increasing propulsion force by 4% with a less than 1% rise in heeling force. With these results, the yacht's cruising speed could now exceed 43 knots in ideal conditions.

By applying its technical expertise even to sailing, Maserati yet again reaffirms its aptitude for innovation, adopting Maserati Multi 70 as a continually evolving "laboratory boat”.

The Maserati Innovation Lab is the heart of the Brand's technological research, development and design.

The Brand’s engineering hub, on via Emilia Ovest in Modena, recently opened its doors to share its key role in the development of new Maserati models with the outside world for the first time.

It is at this facility of excellence that all Maserati models of today and tomorrow are designed, with digital processes that support the product's development, applying the exclusive Maserati formula which adopts an integrated approach to prioritise the human factor right from the initial phases: customer-focus is incorporated in the world of virtual simulation with an exclusive hardware-software mix.

In fact, the Maserati Innovation Lab engineers are assisted by advanced technologies such as the new, latest-generation DiM (Driver-in-Motion) Simulator, the Static Simulator and the labs working to develop “User eXperience”. — SG