Say what you will about hydrofoils, but when they combine throwback luxury automotive styling with ultra-modern tech, boaters tend to take notice.
That's because most boaters are de-facto historians. It comes with the culture, and the overlap between the automotive world and marine culture is well documented. Boaters tend to like cars, and boat designers tend to intermingle with car designers. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. And that's the way we like it.
That's why the Pegasus hydrofoil -- a clever hybrid that takes a unique approach to blending classic car culture with new-age boating -- is getting attention from coast to coast.
Pegasus is made by a company called foil.one, which blends the aesthetics of 1960s supercars above the water with high-tech hydrofoiling technology below the water.
Even more, the company makes no bones about their Formula One influence, which is astoundingly clear when you pair the Pegasus next to a 1967 Lotus 49 R3.
See what we mean?
Eric Smits, the head of Design & Innovation for foil.one, also happens to be a naval architect and composites engineer, but his love for Formula One is no secret. It's also a testament to good design ethos.
"Coming from Argentina, I was a big fan of Fangio and his Formula One cars from the 50s era," said Smits. "I noticed if you would flip the car around, it could actually look like a boat. The single seater configuration made a lot of sense to keep the boat slender and aerodynamic. I not only looked at Fangio's cars, but a range of Formula One cars, all the way to the 1970s style. Mainly classic cars like the Lotus 49, for example, was a great inspiration."
Smits is also quick to point out that "the first hydrofoil was foiling before the first aeroplane was flying," which is a clever factoid that many boaters (or car enthusiasts) don't know. It's true, of course, as the long history of the hydrofoil is a criminally underrated component of maritime influence. Don't believe us? There are hydrofoils made by BMW (yes, the car company), not to mention hydrofoil jet skis, plus super celebs like Tom Brady and Rafael Nadal are buying up hydrofoil boat racing teams. The hydrofoil isn't going anywhere.
But let's say you did want to go somewhere with one --- like say, using it as a daily commuter in a coastal city rather than battling gridlock driving through downtown. Cities like Miami are already encouraging citizens to use the waterway instead of the highway, so why not take the Pegasus to the office instead of your Porsche?
No problem.
The key to hydrofoiling, just like a supercar, is finding a way to balance high performance with light weight. Smits and foil.one took another cue from Formula One here, choosing to build a lightweight carbon fiber body around a single cockpit seat for maximum efficiency. In other words, Pegasus, like a Lotus 49 or an F1 car, is remarkably responsive. And easy to drive. It will get you to the office by 9 am, no matter what the traffic (or the weather report).
"When building and designing this boat, the main goal was to make it as easy to use as possible. So we focused all of our efforts in making it behave exactly like a bike. The boat will respond in the same way as a bike, so everybody that has the knowledge could fly this boat in less than 90 seconds," says Smits.
The allusion to riding a bike comes from Pegasus' single track hydrofoil - one strut in front of the other - which creates a riding sensation similar to biking when performing turns or maneuvers.
Weight is also a factor, and much like today's carbon fiber road bikes, or their higher horsepower F1 counterparts, less weight means more responsive handling.
"The entire boat is built from carbon fiber and composite materials. It's just like a Formula One car, and the reason is that because we have an electric propulsion system, and lithium batteries are heavy at the moment, we had to make the lightest craft possible."
Under the proverbial hood (we're going to keep blending auto and marine references, for obvious reasons), are two Torqeedo batteries, one in the front compartment one in the back compartment. Both power a 10 kilowatt motor on the aft foil.
The batteries enables the pilot to cruise between 20 to 25 knots (23 to 28 mph) for 2.5 hours, giving a range of around 50 nautical miles.
By all accounts, acceleration is a similar thrill to dropping the clutch on a high-performance supercar. For those unfamiliar with electric propulsion, electric motors generate significantly more torque than their gas-powered brethren, which means quicker holeshots and more G-forces putting butts in seats.
"The boat takes off at 10 knots and quickly accelerates to cruising speed between 18 to 22 knots, and our top speed is 30 knots."
"The pilot does not have to fly the boat. This is completely automatic. So you only need to worry about steering the boat," says Smits.
It's also worth noting that Pegasus can take turns at 45 degrees of banking, which will definitely give you the sensation of being at the track even if you're on water instead of asphalt.
We all know boating is becoming increasingly autonomous, but as much as we all would enjoy hands-free docking, notions of 'automatic' boat driving might make some purists want to stay onshore. Especially in bad weather.
But worry not, as Pegasus has planned for that.
According to Smits, "even though the height is automatically controlled, you can still choose to fly higher or lower depending on the sea state. If you really want to push it harder and its flat water, you can fly high. If the weather is more choppy, or you have big swells, you can choose to fly low and more stable."
Those changes are controlled by the pilot, or captain as it were, who is seated in the cockpit similar to the classic supercars that inspired the design, using a simple set of steering handles.
"The boat is steered by moving the handles on the cockpit. The advantage of having split handles is that there is nothing in the way for the pilot to get in and out of the cockpit," adds Smits.
So if you're sick of sitting in traffic with a car that demands to go fast, perhaps its time to put the Porsche in the garage and tie the Pegasus up at the dock.
The company is already accepting pre-orders.
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