05 Jun 2026

Riding the Wind: Team Monaco and the Clean-Tech Aerodynamic Frontier

By EVWorld.com AI Editorial Team

The global electric marine revolution is currently dominated by a single, mesmerizing narrative: the rise of the hydrofoil. By lifting hulls completely out of the water on submerged, computer-controlled wings, pioneers like Candela, Navier, Artemis, and Vessev have drastically cut hydrodynamic drag, paving the way for commercially viable electric ferries and luxury watercraft. Even regional fractional-ownership transit concepts like NetBoats™ have leaned into efficient foil mechanics to transform point-to-point coastal travel. Yet, while active hydrofoils rule the open seas, a parallel technological revolution is brewing in the high-stakes world of inshore sprint racing, where aerodynamic air cushions are replacing mechanical wings.

Enter Team Monaco. Representing the elite UIM E1 World Championship grid, Team Monaco stands apart from its celebrity-backed competitors. Instead of Hollywood star power, this team is an institutional asset driven by Prince Albert II and the Grimaldi family's multi-generational commitment to ocean preservation and sustainable mobility. Headquartered at the Yacht Club de Monaco, the team serves as a high-speed incubator for zero-emission technology. But their ambitions extend far beyond the standard E1 hydrofoil circuits; they are looking to rewrite the record books entirely.

This pursuit aligns seamlessly with Monaco's legacy as a premier incubator for paradigm-shifting EV records, largely catalyzed by Monegasque entrepreneur Gildo Pallanca Pastor and his pioneering company, Venturi. Since Pastor acquired Venturi in 2000, the Monaco-based group has systematically shattered boundaries across land and ice—establishing the absolute electric land speed record with the 3,000-horsepower Venturi Buckeye Bullet 3 (549 km/h) and rewriting two-wheeled history with the Voxan Wattman electric motorcycle (455 km/h). Team Monaco's latest endeavor brings this exact national ethos of land-based velocity out onto the open water.

The Aerodynamic Alternative: Tunnel Hulls vs. Foils

To push the limits of clean-tech marine engineering, Team Monaco has turned its attention to a vintage racing architecture retrofitted for a sustainable future: the tunnel-hull catamaran. While hydrofoils use the dense medium of water passing over submerged foils to generate vertical lift, a tunnel hull relies on air. As the boat accelerates, its twin parallel sponsons trap high-pressure air beneath the wide, wing-shaped center deck, creating massive aerodynamic lift. At peak velocities, the craft effectively flies on a cushion of air, reducing contact with the water to just the propeller blades and the trailing tips of the sponsons.

The advantages are profound. Unlike hydrofoils, which require fragile, deep-draft appendages that are highly vulnerable to marine debris, a tunnel hull maintains an incredibly shallow draft and robust structural durability. It trades the complex, electronic stabilization systems of commercial foilers for raw, aerodynamic balance, striking a razor-sharp equilibrium between watercraft and aircraft.

Targeting the Under-72V World Record

According to Stephane Collard, a key technical voice for the team, Team Monaco is currently leveraging this aerodynamic hull form to push clean-tech boundaries in the ultra-efficient under-72V category. The goal is singular and bold: to shatter the current World Speed Record of 91 km/h (approximately 56.5 mph) for an electric craft in this voltage class.

To contextualize the monumental engineering feat of reaching these speeds on an under-72V architecture, consider consumer electric vehicles. A standard modern electric car, such as a Tesla Model Y, utilizes a high-voltage powertrain pushing up to 400 volts to deliver its nominal 400 to 450 horsepower. Team Monaco, by contrast, is intentionally restricting its testbed to a low-voltage safety ecosystem (under 72V). This severe constraint cuts the available raw horsepower to a fraction of a commercial EV's output, yet through the sheer efficiency of air-cushion aerodynamics, the craft achieves a staggering power-to-weight performance capable of matching land-based speeds on an incredibly resistive water surface.

By keeping the architecture below 72 volts, the project emphasizes highly accessible, inherently safe low-voltage engineering—the very technology that could democratize small-scale commercial and recreational electric boating worldwide. The record attempt acts as the ultimate stress test for their lightweight, high-torque electric powertrain, proving that massive voltage and excessive horsepower are not prerequisites for extreme performance when your hull design is aerodynamically optimized.

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Vessel Technical Specifications (F4 Electric Testbed)

• Hull Architecture: Formula 4 (F4) Aerodynamic Tunnel-Hull Catamaran
• Powertrain System: Molabo ARIES Clean-Tech Outboard / Mercury Racing Lower Unit
• Voltage Class: Under-72V Low-Voltage Safety Ecosystem (< 72V vs. Tesla's ~400V)
• Lift Mechanism: Passive Aerofoil Compressed Air Cushion
• Target Metric: > 91 km/h (To break existing UIM World Speed Record)

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As the maritime sector transitions away from fossil fuels, the parallel development of hydrofoils and aerodynamic tunnel hulls provides a rich ecosystem of innovation. While companies like Candela and NetBoats™ refine the long-range commuter efficiency of hydrofoils, Team Monaco's low-voltage sprint program proves that air-cushion aerodynamics offers an elegantly simple, ultra-fast alternative for the future of clean marine propulsion. The upcoming record attempt on the waters of the Mediterranean will determine just how fast that future will arrive.

To follow the team's updates and upcoming record attempts, visit the official Team Monaco Website.

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