Figaro Bénéteau
One-design monohull class of about 10 m built by Bénéteau, used in the Solitaire du Figaro and France's main training path for solo offshore racing. Three generations: 1990, 2003 and 2017 (foiling).
The race that gave the class its name was created in 1970 as the Course de l'Aurore by Jean-Louis Guillemard and Jean-Michel Barrault, and became the Solitaire du Figaro in 1980 when the newspaper Le Figaro became its sponsor. Until the late 1980s, sailors raced a variety of production boats.
In 1990 the Bénéteau yard launched the Figaro Bénéteau (also known as the Figaro Solo), a 9.14 m monohull designed by Groupe Finot with Jean Berret, and the Classe Figaro Bénéteau association was founded the same year. The idea was strict one-design: identical series-built boats, so that only the sailor's skill decides the result. Around 140 boats of this first generation were built.
The Figaro Bénéteau 2, designed by Marc Lombard, followed in 2003. About a metre longer (10.15 m), it added water ballast and twin rudders. Some 96 were built, and it carried the Solitaire for roughly fifteen years, a period in which the class became France's main training ground for solo offshore racing.
The third generation, the Figaro Bénéteau 3, was designed by Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost (VPLP), unveiled in 2017 and first built in 2018. At 10.85 m and without water ballast, it was the first production monohull fitted with foils (Chistera-type), and it has been the Solitaire du Figaro boat since the 2019 season.
Now based in Lorient, the class runs a yearly circuit built around the Solitaire du Figaro and part of the French Elite offshore racing championship, mixing solo and double-handed events such as the Solo Guy Cotten and the Transat Paprec.
The Figaro Bénéteau is a strict one-design class: every boat is series-built by the Bénéteau yard to a single design, and the class rules, administered by the Classe Figaro Bénéteau association and checked by measurers, aim to keep the boats identical so that only the sailor makes the difference.
The current generation, the Figaro Bénéteau 3 (VPLP design), is about 10.85 m long, 3.47 m wide and draws 2.50 m. Hull and deck are infused glass/polyester sandwich; the fixed keel carries a bulb, there are twin rudders, and two manually adjusted retractable Chistera foils reduce leeway and add righting moment. Unlike the Figaro 2, the boat has no water ballast. The carbon mast is 13.76 m tall.
The class mainly races single-handed, with some double-handed events. The detailed controls (sail inventory, electronics, energy, weight) are set out in the official class rules, approved by the French sailing federation.
9 sources · updated 2 Nov 2026
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Source: Sillage, charte graphique : palette des classes (opens in a new tab)
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Source: Fiche Figaro Bénéteau (choix éditorial) (opens in a new tab)
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Source: Fiche Figaro Bénéteau (choix éditorial) (opens in a new tab)
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Source: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solo_Guy_Cotten (opens in a new tab)