Benetti Fisker 50

A 2016 concept rendering of the Benetti Fisker 50
History
Name: Benetti Fisker 50
Builder: Benetti (Livorno, Italy)
Status: Concept
Notes: Designed by Henrik Fisker
General characteristics
Type: Superyacht
Length: 50 metres (160 ft)
Decks: 3
Speed: 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Capacity: 12 passengers

The Benetti Fisker 50 is a 50-meter (164-foot) superyacht concept designed by Henrik Fisker in California, to be built by Italian boat building company Benetti in Livorno. Fisker and Benetti announced a partnership in 2015 to design and build a series of superyachts and revealed the design at the 2016 Singapore Yacht Show. Production is anticipated to begin in late 2016.

History

Spending time aboard yachts over the years gave Fisker insight into how they are used, and got him thinking about how he would design one.[1] In 2015, in the South of France at a social gathering, he met James Clayton, the sales manager at Benetti.[2] Fisker mentioned some of his ideas for a yacht, and Clayton suggested they collaborate. Given Fisker's background designing luxury cars, Clayton felt it would be beneficial to work with a designer who would think outside the box and challenge industry conventions, with the ability to create an innovative and unique yet feasible design.[1][2]

The Benetti Fisker 50 is the first boat designed by Fisker, although he occasionally sketched boats in his youth and as a student at the Art Center College of Design in Switzerland.[3] He is best known as the founder of Fisker Coachbuild, Fisker Automotive and VLF Automotive, and for creating such iconic luxury cars as the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Fisker Karma, Galpin-Fisker Mustang Rocket and the VLF Force 1 V10.[2][4][5]

Founded in 1873,[6] Benetti is the oldest shipyard in Italy,[7] known for the production and sale of motoryachts and custom luxury superyachts.[6] They built the Nabila for Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman Adnan Khashoggi in 1980, which at 86 meters and 2,465 tons was at the time the largest yacht in the world. It was featured in the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again.[8] Other notable superyachts they have built were the 60-meter Xanadu (later renamed St. David) in 2008,[8] and the 90-meter Lionheart, Benetti's largest yacht, delivered to British businessman Philip Green in 2016.[9][10]

The Benetti Fisker 50 was first teased in December 2015 with an early sketch, when the partnership between Fisker and Benetti was announced.[4][11][12] Renderings of the finalized design were unveiled at the Singapore Yacht Show in April 2016.[5][13]

Specifications and design

Front view of the Benetti Fisker 50.

The Benetti Fisker 50 is a custom-made 50-meter-long three-deck luxury ship intended for private use.[3] He chose to design a 164-foot yacht because it fits into more marinas compared to larger yachts.[14] The concept integrates an existing Benetti-developed platform with Fisker's sporty exterior and stylish interior designs.[15] The timeless design combines luxury with privacy, and merges sleekness with usability.[14] The boat is intended for the super-rich looking for the comforts of a mansion on the water, as well as a place to entertain and host business meetings.[4][5]

The superyacht is built on principles of sustainability, with reclaimed wood, solar panels and an optional hybrid engine incorporated into the design.[5] The integrated solar panels capture energy used to power ambient lights mounted on its carbon fiber wings to provide light at night.[16] The boat can hit speeds of 15.5 knots and travel 4,000 nautical miles at 12 knots before refueling. It has two large Caterpillar C32 engines, which feed from a 16,378-gallon fuel capacity.[4]

The exterior bears a strong feature line flowing from the front and swooping to the rear on each of its three decks, which Fisker said is inspired by a "perfect regressing wave".[16] Carbon fiber shark fins complete its aerodynamic look, and three parallel stainless steel bars below the bow create an imposing front view, evoking the grille of a car.[4][5][17] The interior is designed with the feel of a lavish penthouse apartment in New York City, London or Paris, for living and entertaining. It features floor-to-ceiling glass walls in places, extra-wide staircases, and has numerous ocean views.[2][5] Fisker's design incorporates his own signature style, containing a lot of sculpture, and elaborates on existing design elements from Benetti; for instance, Benetti's yachts typically have a long, thin black line running all the way around the hull, and Fisker made this more pronounced and integrated it with the window area.[2]

Amenities

Master suite on the Benetti Fisker 50.
Sun deck on the Benetti Fisker 50.

The boat has six bedrooms, including a master suite with floor-to-ceiling windows, a fireplace, retractable ocean-view terrace, minibar, library, curved television, walk-in closets, a staircase leading to a private home theater and a ceiling that recreates the night sky.[5][18] There are six cabins to house up to 12 guests, the staff quarters allow for 11 crew members, and the entertainment space accommodates over 100 people.[3][5][19] Benetti can provide full management of the yacht, including crew and charter options.[14] The boat includes a spa, several bars and an elevated Jacuzzi with an ocean view. The upper deck features a movie theater with a giant screen and reclining beds.[5][19] When not in use, half of the cinema can be converted into a gym by sliding back the middle beds and removing the chairs.[16] The living room fits 12 people and has a bar facing the ocean. There is a switch to lower and expand the bar so that it becomes a dining room table. The sun deck comes with a dining table, bar and dual-use fire pit that can also serve as a giant ice bucket, which The Daily Mail called "the largest Champagne chiller at sea."[7][19] It also includes water toys such as jet skis and a 6.5-meter tender.[20]

Production and delivery

The yacht was designed in California, and construction is set to begin in late 2016 at the Benetti factory in Livorno, Italy, with an aim to get it on the market by 2018.[4][19] Its estimated price will be $37 million.[19] Traditionally, such large boats are one-off custom-built models, but the Benetti Fisker 50 will incorporate a platform-sharing idea that Fisker employed with some of his car designs, wherein multiple iterations of the superyacht can be built simultaneously.[3] Each owner will be able to choose which kind of walls, showers, floors, ceilings and doors will complete the interior of the vessel.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kirsten Korosec, "The Fortune Q&A: Henrik Fisker," Fortune, April 6, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Viju Matthew, "Car Designer Henrik Fisker Reveals Superyacht Design for Benetti Yachts," Robb Report, April 8, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Charles Fleming, "Henrik Fisker's next supercar is a boat," Los Angeles Times, April 8, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hannah Elliott, "See the $37 Million Benetti Superyacht Designed by Henrik Fisker," Bloomberg Businessweek, April 7, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kirsten Korosec, "A $37 Million Superyacht That Has Supercar Styling," Fortune, April 15, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "History of a craftsmanship, mind and passion for sea," Excellence, June 2015.
  7. 1 2 Chris Kitching, "The ultimate party boat," The Daily Mail, April 11, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Benetti," Boat International Media. Accessed August 14, 2016.
  9. ↑ "90m Benetti superyacht Lionheart delivered to owner," Boat International Media, July 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ Sophie Evans, "Sir Philip Green relaxes aboard new 100m superyacht Lionheart as first 20 BHS stores prepare to close," Daily Mirror, July 18, 2016.
  11. ↑ Bill Springer, "Benetti Yachts Teams Up with Renowned Automotive Designer Henrik Fisker," Forbes, December 29, 2015.
  12. ↑ Kristen Lee, "Henrik Fisker's Next Project Is an Eco-Friendly Superyacht," Road and Track, December 28, 2015.
  13. ↑ Noah Joseph, "This is Henrik Fisker's idea of a yacht," Autoblog.com, April 11, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 Jack Newton, "Applying Street Smarts to the Water," C-Suite Quarterly, Summer 2016, p. 34.
  15. ↑ Charl van Rooy, "Live from Singapore: Benetti Fisker 50m concept unveiled," Super Yacht Times, April 8, 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 "5 Interesting Features of the Benetti Fisker 50 Concept," Boat International Media, April 2016.
  17. ↑ Kim Kavin, "Benetti Launches the Crystal 140 Yacht and Much, Much More," YachtWorld.com, May 26, 2016.
  18. ↑ Kirby Garlitos, "Henrik Fisker Design Unveils New Superyacht Concept," TopSpeed.com, April 12, 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Danielle Muoio, "Legendary car designer Henrik Fisker is building a $37 million luxury yacht lined with solar panels," Tech Insider, July 3, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Henrik Fisker dreams up a new type of luxury eco-barge," Classic Driver, April 8, 2016.

External links

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