The speed at which people can cross the Atlantic Ocean these days is largely taken for granted. A commercial airliner cruising at 850km/h can make the trip in anywhere between six and nine hours. But for Italian automaker Maserati, blasting through the skies in a bus isn’t something it considers fun.
To make life a little more challenging, the company entered the Royal Ocean Racing Club Transatlantic Race. This is a grueling competition among sailing enthusiasts to see who can cross the rough waters of the Atlantic in nothing more than a lightweight craft powered by the wind. This is no easy feat, given that the massive body of water has swallowed practically everything from frigates to oil tankers.
But given Maserati’s recent push for a zero-emissions product line, seeing how fast Mother Nature can get a flimsy boat across the pond should be right up its alley. And for that, it fielded the Multi 70, a trimaran yacht that measures 21.2m from bow to stern. It displaces just 6.3 tons and has a massive 409sq-m sail.
The race from Lanzarote, Canary Islands, to Port Louis Marina, Grenada is 5,547km long. The Multi 70 was able to make the crossing in a mere six days, 18 hours, 51 minutes and 41 seconds. The craft logged an average speed of 21.4 knots (39.6km/h). While this isn’t really nothing to write home about, this pace is pretty impressive for a vehicle powered by nothing but the wind. It is also a lot faster than a typical diesel-powered container ship which can manage 18 knots (33.3km/h) at best.
One would think that Maserati would take the opportunity to do some marketing at the RORC event. After all, the Multi 70 once sailed with “Grecale” written on it. The Grecale is the firm’s upcoming crossover that slots in below the Levante. But instead, the trimaran yacht sported a simple livery with the trident logo on its sail.
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