Matteo Polli is the fastest yacht designer in the world: the exclusive interview

From the M37 to the Italia Yachts 998: The Start of a Winning Career

Matteo Polli’s journey began in 2006, the year the M37 was born. The project, developed alongside Maurizio Cossutti, was the starting point of a path destined to reshape the international offshore racing scene. That experience forged a bond with an owner who later entrusted him with the project that would mark the first major turning point of his career: the Italia Yachts 998. “He asked me to design the boat with which I won my first world championship in 2015” Polli recalls in the interview.

This was the first building block of an impressive series. The subsequent Italia Yachts 11.98 project confirmed the validity of Polli’s design approach, winning the world championship during its very first outing and securing the designer a rock-solid international reputation. “There too, we won the first world championship the boat ever entered, followed by another world title and a silver medal the following year” Polli points out. However, the most impressive takeaway is not just the number of titles won, but the consistency of the results. In an industry where regulations evolve rapidly and competitiveness is decided by infinitesimal details, managing to maintain technical leadership for over a decade represents a rare feat.

Grand Soleil 44: Confirming Technical Dominance

The transition to collaborating with Grand Soleil Yachts marked a further evolution. The Grand Soleil 44 is a boat that immediately managed to assert itself on the major international ORC circuits. “This boat also won the first world championship it entered, and then went on to win three more” says Matteo Polli.

The Grand Soleil 44 synthesizes one of the most recognizable qualities of this extraordinary Italian designer: the ability to combine high-level competitive performance with the volume and comfort intended for advanced cruising. This philosophy has become central to the performance-cruiser market in recent years.

Meanwhile, his most recent success bears the name M.A.T. 11, a project developed for the M.A.T. Yachts shipyard: “This year, it won its first world championship right at its debut” says our interviewee. It is a statement delivered with apparent simplicity, but one that speaks volumes about Polli’s immense capability to interpret ORC regulations with a level of precision that is hard to match today.

Matteo Polli’s Design Method with Nauta Design

Throughout the interview, it becomes clear that a designer’s work is never the result of an isolated individual flash of genius, but rather the synthesis of an ongoing dialogue between different areas of expertise. In this regard, the relationship with Nauta Design represents one of the most interesting aspects of Polli’s methodology. “The relationship with Nauta is very constructive” the designer explains. “We are both very demanding, and we leave almost nothing to chance.“

Polli’s design process relies on continuous adjustments and verifications, where every element is analyzed based on the boat’s overall balance. “We constantly fight over spaces, and over the positioning of various elements, like the mast and the keel” he says.

But the most compelling aspect involves how performance and livability are integrated right from the initial stages of the project. “Everything always starts with the hull” Polli specifies, emphasizing that the first phase of his work always focuses on defining the waterlines and the boat’s fundamental parameters.

Next comes the collaboration with the team at Nauta Design, who evaluate the impact of those technical choices on the interior layout and the onboard experience.

It is a complex balance, particularly in the performance-cruiser segment, where owners simultaneously demand speed, comfort, generous spaces, and ease of use. “We always try to build boats that sail well, deliver the performance the owner expects, and can also win races” Polli summarizes.

Franco Corazza and the Birth of Grand Soleil’s Plus Line

Another central chapter involves Matteo Polli’s professional relationship with Franco Corazza, a legendary figure in Italian yachting and currently the project manager for Grand Soleil’s Plus line. Polli speaks of him with great respect, recognizing his fundamental role in his own professional growth: “He is another person who helped me grow a lot in the professional world.” The two have known each other since 2006, back when they raced together, but their professional partnership took concrete shape in 2011 with Italia Yachts.

Polli’s words paint a portrait of an extremely rigorous manager equipped with a rare ability to read the market: “Corazza is a visionary; he saw gaps in the market that we went on to fill with Italia Yachts.” The strength of their collaboration stems primarily from how well their skills complement one another: “Whatever he might have lacked from a technical design standpoint, I tried to bring to the table. I learned a ton of things from him.“

The professional relationship between Polli and Corazza decisively contributed to the development of some of the most significant projects in contemporary Italian yachting, culminating in the Grand Soleil Plus line and the more recent Grand Soleil 80.

Grand Soleil 80: Comfort, Customization, and Performance

Speaking about the shipyard’s new flagship, Polli offers a particularly interesting inside look at the design challenges tied to large, fast cruising yachts. “We always try to make a boat that sails well in any condition” he states. In the case of the Grand Soleil 80, the main challenge consists of guaranteeing high performance while maintaining a high degree of customization for owners. This entails considerable technical complexity: “I have to develop a hull that performs well across all of these possible configurations.” Interior layouts change, weights shift, and the yacht’s overall balance alters. The designer must therefore create a platform capable of maintaining dynamic consistency across very different scenarios.

The Future of Sailing According to Matteo Polli

One of the most intriguing moments of the interview touches upon Polli’s vision for the future of sailing. When asked about the evolution of foils and whether the technologies seen today in the America’s Cup will become standard for fast cruising as well, the designer provides an incredibly clear and pragmatic answer: “In my opinion, the foils we see in the America’s Cup will stay there.” Polli believes these technologies will continue to develop primarily in the world of lightweight racing boats, where the ratio between weight, power, and speed genuinely allows foils to operate efficiently.

As for cruising, his stance is more cautious: “I don’t think we’ll see cruising boats lifting out of the water and hitting 30 knots while the family on board enjoys lunch under a bimini.” It is a phrase that perfectly captures the current gap between high-tech showmanship and the actual use-case of everyday boat owners. Instead, according to Polli, the most likely evolution will involve the integration of lifting surfaces capable of improving efficiency and stability without radically transforming the nature of cruising yachts. This vision aligns seamlessly with his design philosophy: practical, functional innovation that is never just for show.

A Passion for Sailing Beyond Work

At the end of the interview, the designer’s personal side shines through. When asked what he would like to design besides sailboats, Polli points to the world of catamarans with growing interest because, he explains, “I believe there is still a lot of evolution left to happen there.” His intuition focuses primarily on the possibility of creating catamarans that are more fun and performance-oriented without sacrificing comfort: “Infusing a bit of Italian style into the design to make something even more interesting.“

Even outside of work, sailing remains central to Polli’s life, though experienced differently than his professional activity. The designer shares that he goes out as often as possible on his own Musto Skiff—a high-performance, high-adrenaline skiff—but also mentions a passion for skiing, mountain biking, and running. What emerges is the profile of a designer deeply connected to the dynamic dimension of sport and movement—elements that likely contribute to the intuition and sensitivity with which he interprets how his boats behave in the water.

Conclusion

The interview delivers a complete picture of Matteo Polli: not just the designer who clinched ten world titles in eleven years, but above all, a professional capable of blending technical expertise, design vision, and an ability to listen to the market. It is a rare balance that today firmly positions him among the most influential figures in contemporary international sailing.

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