It’s the formula that has been working for twenty years, and that Pirelli, always in partnership with Sacs Tecnorib, intends to offer in the future as well
by Niccolò Volpati – photo by Matteo Vernasca
Twenty-five years back, I was determined to go and see the America’s Cup. And for the first time in its long history, there were to be some preliminary races, including one in Trapani. To follow it, I jumped on board a maxi RIB with four photographers from the ANSA agency. I heard them mumbling and wondering who I was. They didn’t realise I was Italian, and thought I couldn’t understand. They didn’t know about the pre-start rules or when they had to start taking pictures. The siren went off, but they hadn’t grasped the fact that the boats fought it out without crossing the line. “That’s the five-minute siren”, I said, “there will be another and then they will finally steer towards the windward mark”. The man steering the RIB knew his stuff and charged around like a rocket. Even so, he struggled to get to the buoy before Luna Rossa and the other boats, not least because he had to stay off the course so as not to leave wakes that would have slowed down the competitors.
There were team chase boats and the photographers’ dinghy. In fact, there were more RIBs on the water that day than when they shot Apocalypse Now. One of them seemed faster than all the others; it was Victory, the one run by the Swedish team. “It was my father Ocke who drew up the lines of the hull of that RIB”, says Ted Mannerfelt. “It had a hull that was like that on the best ocean racing yachts. He was inspired by them”. That RIB attracted a lot of attention. It handled better and went faster than the others, and never porpoised, even in rougher seas. Marco Tronchetti Provera, who was in Trapani with Gianni De Bonis, noticed that. “That hull holds the water better than the others”, said Tronchetti Provera. “So why don’t you go and find out who designed it?”. That’s how De Bonis tells it. “And that is how I got in contact with Ocke Mannerfelt, and our partnership began”.
Marco Maria Tronchetti Provera
«Pirelli has always had a deep bond with the world of sport, which has strong roots in the company’s industrial and cultural story. From motor sports, like Formula 1, to sailing, as well as football, skiing and tennis: for Pirelli, sport has always been a laboratory of innovation and a privileged point of contact with the consumer. Through various sports, the company has transmitted fundamental values, such as performance, passion, team spirit, and technological innovation. The relationship with the sea, in particular, goes back a long way. Already in the 1950s, our Diversified Products section produced inflatable boats, the company’s first steps in the yachting world. In subsequent decades, that link was further strengthened, in particular in 2005 with the foundation of Pirelli Speedboats, in partnership with Sacs Tecnorib».
The partnership agreement between Ted Mannerfelt and Pirelli is very transparent. “It is a close synergy, indispensable
for an approach to design that allows us to put forward innovative solutions. We analyse who the possible clients are, what the boat will have to do, and immediately which the best engines would be to get to the speed required”.
Ted Mannerfelt
«Design is my passion. I studied and became a car designer. I spent ten years in England working for Lotus and Jaguar. I grew up with my father, who was a boat designer and, in 1978, the founder of the Mannerfelt Design Team. I always liked speed, not just because my father designed fast boats, but also because I raced speedboats from a young age. After 10 years as a car designer, I returned to Sweden to work alongside my father and, in 2006, joined his design studio. The most important model amongst the many made by Pirelli was the 1400, which featured elements inspired by car design. That project won the Red Dot Design Award and was one of the first motorboats to receive that recognition. The Pirelli 1400 became a model of reference for maxi RIBs. And then I would say that the walk around range has been just as important: the 42, 35 and 50».
Gianni De Bonis
«We really wanted to do something new and dared to try it. That has been Pirelli’s approach to speedboats since the start. The first in 2006 was the 770, but right afterwards a ten-metre arrived, and then there was the Pirelli 1400. And twenty years back, that kind of size was definitely unusual. But that was what we aimed at, and still do. Large sizes have also driven significant technology and innovation. Already with the 770, we used 3D design, at a point when dinghies were still very much hand-made. We were able to get the best out of that craftsmanship and the skills in Italy by adding innovation to product development. What came out of that was a new type of boat, for a new kind of owner. They weren’t larger inflatables, but rather a different way of experiencing the sea which brought together performance, comfort and design».
Nicola Antonelli
«I started my journey with Sacs Tecnorib in January 2024. Although I had worked at Ducati for several years, I never lost touch with the boating industry. While working as a consultant, I met Matteo Magni, the president of Sacs Tecnorib. We found that we were on the same wavelength, sharing values and strategies that included long-term vision, investment to support ambitious plans, and the ability to attract talent and expertise. Following NUO’s investment, we needed to step up our efforts to develop the brand and product range, aiming to increase internationalisation and advance our company’s ambitions. One of our objectives is to maximise the value of the Pirelli Speedboats project by attracting new owners and serving new markets with a range of unique boats. We are the market leaders in the maxi rib segment, but competition in our sector is constantly growing, so we must always be one step ahead to maintain our global leadership».
Pirelli Speedboats was created in 2005 and has only just celebrated its twentieth anniversary. As the licensee for the Pirelli brand, Tecnorib was created specially for the project. It is undeniable that the Pirelli RIBs have marked an objective change in the yachting and boating world. They have truly combined comfort at sea with high performance. Until 2005, a genuinely fast boat was never particularly comfortable. They were sporty and jumped off the waves, but they definitely weren’t suitable for a different use from what they set out for – and performance was all that mattered. The hulls by Ocke Mannerfelt and the design project developed by Tecnorib, on the other hand, were able to combine these two characteristics, which had until then seemed incompatible. And that essentially marked the birth of our maxi RIB. Among the first was Sacs, with their maxi-inflatables over ten metres, designed by Christian Grande, and then, following close behind, were Pirelli and a few others. And perhaps, in part because of that, it felt fairly natural to start a partnership that, in 2021, led to the creation of Sacs Tecnorib. Large, high-performance boats that are also very safe and stable.
In 20 years, more than 1,000 Pirelli-branded boats have been delivered; they are present in 19 countries; the owners are from 30 different nationalities, and the turnover exceeds $20 million
per year. Pirelli models can be found in Florida, Australia,
the USA and Europe.
“Our relationship with the sea has roots that go back a long way”, says Marco Maria Tronchetti Provera, who is SVP Pirelli Design & Assets Conversion. Back in the 1950s, Pirelli produced inflatable boats, which was the first step the company took in the nautical world. That link has further strengthened over subsequent decades: in recent years, with the Pirelli races at Portofino and with the Luna Rossa project, and since 2005, with the foundation of Pirelli Speedboats. “The challenge, now even more so than twenty years back, is to develop the product internationally”, says Matteo Magni, President & CEO of Sacs Tecnorib. It is also undeniable that Pirelli has never been afraid to take a new direction. That is how you execute design projects that leave a mark.
“The partnership between Sacs Tecnorib and NUO, an investment fund backed by important international families, was created at the end of 2024 specifically to accelerate the international development of the product, especially in the American market”, says Nicola Antonelli. The agreement is for a minority stake to be passed to the NUO fund. It also establishes the continuity of governance at Sacs Tecnorib, which in the last financial year turned over more than 70 million euros, of which more than 70% was in exports, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% over the past three years.
In the picture, from the left, Marco Maria Tronchetti Provera, Matteo Magni and Gianni De Bonis are celebrating the beginning of their collaboration.
The deal defines the terms of the start of a new project. “I always start with a lot of hand-drawn sketches, and then quickly move on to 3D imaging, so I can be sure that the design and the proportions can be achieved. The longest stage in the design process is the last one, because everything has to function perfectly, right from the outset. I often suggest new ideas to Gianni De Bonis and his team to work out if they can be turned into something tangible”.
Plenty of water has passed under the hull since the first Pirelli 770 made its debut at the Portofino regatta in May 2006, but Pirelli Speedboats is still moving on and doesn’t intend to stay tied up at the quayside. The route is the same, and there is no lack of new projects, starting from the latest, the Pirelli 47 presented at this year’s Cannes Yachting Festival. The Pirelli 47 offers even greater customisation options, with a living area that is better protected and more welcoming, and is designed to deliver comfort and safety, including in variable weather conditions. The interiors are made to work as both a day boat and a chase boat.
(Pirelli Speedboats – Fast & comfortable – Barchemagazine.com – Excerpted from Barche, December 2025)
