Groundbreaking design: "It is difficult for conventional ships to sail faster than 40 or 50 knots," says SP80 co-founder Mayeul van den Broek. "It is a bit akin to trying to break the sound barrier in ...

For more than eight years, the world sailing speed record has remained unbroken. In November 2012, Australian Paul Larsen reached 65.45 knots (or 121 kilometers per hour/75 mph) in his Vesta ...

The SP80 and Syroco teams have both got their remarkable boats on the water. Looking like a pair of alien spaceships, and pulled by ultra-fast kites instead of sails on masts, both these machines are ...

Two teams, Switzerland's SP80 and France's Syroco, are taking aim at the world speed sailing record in 2022, with a pair of thoroughly remarkable kiteboats that both teams believe can smash previous ...

The team behind the rocket-like SP80 foiler, which recently reached 51+ knots (59.03 mph), plans to soon cross the magical 54-knot line on its way to beating the speed record of 65.45 knots (75.3 mph) ...

But the SP80 is actually more like a kiteboard, or at least designed to operate like one, with an oversized kitesurfing sail that will, at least theoretically, propel the boat to a record of 80 knots, ...

SP80 rendering: While similar in appearance to Syroco's concept, in this case the central capsule isn't lifted above the water but skims the surface.