Flite Wins Two iF Design Awards for FLITELab AMPJet and Fliteboard RACE

Byron Bay eFoil maker Flite announced it has collected two more iF Design Awards, recognizing the FLITELab AMPJet propulsion cartridge and the Fliteboard RACE, the company's collaboration with Mercury Racing that debuted at CES in Las Vegas. The March 24, 2026 announcement extends what is becoming one of the more decorated design records in the eFoil segment.

The two products could not be more different in philosophy, which makes the double recognition worth noting. The Fliteboard RACE was built around a custom impeller designed to hit top speeds of 34 mph (55 km/h, 30 knots), and it is the first Fliteboard to run FLITELab surf foiling wings in its standard setup. Motorsport-inspired design cues run throughout the board, including signature carbon Innegra detailing, while the elongated narrow profile improves takeoff and touchdown response and the elevated mast configuration is tuned for speed and handling. For anyone who's spent time chasing speed runs, the RACE measures in at 4'10 × 20.5" and 58 liters, a compact, punchy footprint that makes more sense once you're up and flying at pace.

The AMPJet tells a completely different story. Rather than going fast in a straight line, it's built to get prone foilers, wingers, and downwind riders out of the channel and into position. The design that earned the iF nod is genuinely clever: the jet cartridge sits concealed inside the AMP_Board's tail cavity, so once you're up on foil, there is nothing hanging off the bottom to create drag or alter the board's feel. The cartridge sits inside the reinforced tail cavity of the AMP_Board as a fully integrated but removable propulsion unit, adding only 4kg to the overall board weight while providing up to 25kg of thrust. Each AMPCell battery module delivers 142 watt hours, so a standard two-battery AMPJet setup runs at a combined 284 watt hours. The individual cells are sized to pass airline carry-on limits, which matters for anyone taking this setup on a surf trip. The AMP Range is designed to give foilers unparalleled power and adaptability across prone foiling, winging, and downwinding, all from one system.

The iF recognition sits on top of an award run that Flite has been building for a couple of years. Fliteboard started in 2016 in Byron Bay, born from a simple idea to bring the feeling of flying over water on clean, quiet electric power to anyone, anytime, and what began as a small passion project has grown into a multimillion-dollar eFoil industry with Fliteboard at the helm. The company's collaboration with Marc Newson already earned an iF Design Award in 2025 in the Sports/Outdoor category, with judges describing the MN60 Wave as "a revolution in performance design." In November 2025, Flite added Gold at the German Design Award 2026 for the MN60 Wave, with the ULTRA L2 also recognized by the German Design Council. The jury on the ULTRA L2 was particularly pointed: "Consistently focused on agility and lightness, ULTRA L2 impresses with its rigorously reduced use of materials. The distinctive carbon board and streamlined eFoil system combine technical sophistication with a clear, aesthetic design language."

Newson himself put it plainly: "It's a joy to use and a technical marvel."

With tens of thousands of Fliteboard customers now across more than 100 countries, and FLITELab set up as a dedicated brand pushing the limits of performance foiling, the iF wins for AMPJet and RACE signal that Flite intends both arms of the business — the mainstream eFoil line and the high-performance foiling sub-brand — to carry the same design pedigree. Two very different boards, one consistent scorecard from the judges.