The Monaco Yacht Show is considered the most prestigious pleasure boat shows in the world, with 500 major companies in the luxury yachting on display and a hundred super and megayachts afloat. It is the perfect backdrop for Mercedes-Benz Style and Silver Arrows Marine to present their designs for a luxury motor yacht.
The 14-metre-long (nearly 46 ft) seagoing Granturismo combines design elements typical of Mercedes-Benz automobiles with innovations hitherto unknown in the boat industry. The result is a progressive and emotionally appealing luxury yacht featuring the passionate design language of Mercedes-Benz. The yacht also represents the next stage in Daimler’s vision of all-encompassing mobility: along with Mercedes-Benz vehicles on land and the Eurocopter EC145 Mercedes-Benz Style in the air, mobility on water under the aegis of the three-pointed star will also soon now be possible.
The motor yacht is being developed and will be built by UK-registered boat-building company Silver Arrows Marine whose team includes world renowned marine architects Martin Francis and Tommaso Spadolini, between them responsible for some of the most capable and luxurious craft in the world today. The ‘Silver Arrow of the seas’ is due to come on to the market in 2013.
“Giving shape to a boat was an exciting challenge for automotive designers like we are,” said Gorden Wagener, Head of Design Mercedes-Benz Cars, at the presentation of the yacht’s design in Monaco. “Our task was to explore how to apply the Mercedes-Benz design language to the particular proportions and specific requirements of a boat. We wanted to create something special and what we have come up with is indeed unique. The ‘Silver Arrow of the seas’ embodies pure emotion and stands for luxury, style and pleasure.”
The crème de la crème of designers and boatbuilders
The new yacht, styled by Mercedes-Benz designers, is being engineered by the project partner, Silver Arrows Marine. “Silver Arrows Marine is a new brand with the best team of experts for extremely high-end maritime products,” Gorden Wagener said. As well as Martin Francis and Tommaso Spadolini, the Silver Arrows Marine team consists of specialists in all areas of luxury yacht development and construction.
Mercedes-Benz Style and Silver Arrows Marine have been working closely together to implement the designers’ interior and exterior style concepts in line with their precise specifications. The Mercedes-Benz Style team has been involved in the project from the beginning, collaborating with Silver Arrows Marine on the yacht’s innovative layout and use of space, shaping the exterior and interior and choosing materials and colour combinations. Silver Arrows Marine is responsible for the boat’s technical equipment and construction, with the first yacht expected to be launched within a year of the presentation of its design.
On the design collaboration with Mercedes-Benz Style, Silver Arrows Marine Chairman Ron Gibbs said: “It has been a privilege to work with professionals as passionate about design as we are passionate about boats and the sea. I am confident that together we can deliver innovation and elegance in a motor yacht that changes the way people see boats in this class.”
Granturismo in its finest form
At 14 metres in length, the new yacht’s design makes it suitable for a wide range of uses. The innovative versatility and intelligent use of space are particularly impressive. While ideal for a day on the water with friends, the motor yacht can also offer overnight accommodation. The elegant and timeless interior appointments offer a level of comfort and luxury commensurate with the Mercedes-Benz name.
About Mercedes-Benz Style
In addition to their work in the field of automotive design, the designers at Mercedes-Benz have been working since 2010 on a range of designs for other products, in cooperation with selected partners. The first product to come onto the market, in 2011, was the Eurocopter EC145 Mercedes-Benz Style helicopter, the first of which have now been delivered to customers. This was followed in 2012 by an exclusive furniture collection, produced in cooperation with the Formitalia Luxury Group, one of Italy’s leading manufacturers of designer furniture. The Mercedes-Benz Style label encompasses transport-related products as well as furniture and lifestyle products.
About Silver Arrows Marine
Silver Arrows Marine is a collective of internationally renowned marine architects and engineers who are behind some of the greatest luxury motor yachts currently in service. Registered in the UK, Silver Arrows Marine works on an exclusive basis with leading specialists in all fields of luxury motor yacht design, development and construction to build high-end boats that make no compromises in their elegance, functionality and sheer usability.
