Benetti Fisker 50

History

In 2015, in the South of France at a social gathering, Fisker met James Clayton, the sales manager at Benetti. Fisker mentioned some of his ideas for a yacht, and Clayton suggested they collaborate, given Fisker's background designing luxury cars. 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. He is best known as the founder of Fisker Coachbuild, Fisker Automotive and VLF Automotive, and for creating such luxury cars as the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Fisker Karma, Galpin-Fisker Mustang Rocket and the VLF Force 1.

Founded in 1873, Benetti is the oldest shipyard in Italy, known for the production and sale of motoryachts and custom luxury superyachts. 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. Other notable superyachts they have built were the 60-meter Xanadu (later renamed St. David) in 2008, and the 90-meter Lionheart, Benetti's largest yacht, delivered to British businessman Philip Green in 2016.

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

Specifications and design

The Benetti Fisker 50 is a custom-made 50-meter-long three-deck luxury ship intended for private use. Fisker chose to design a 164-foot yacht because it fits into more marinas compared to larger yachts. The concept integrates an existing Benetti-developed platform with Fisker's exterior and interior designs. The boat is intended for the super-rich.

The superyacht is built on principles of sustainability, with reclaimed wood, solar panels and an optional hybrid engine incorporated into the design. The integrated solar panels capture energy used to power ambient lights mounted on its carbon fiber wings to provide light at night. 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.

The exterior bears a strong feature line flowing from the front and swooping to the rear on each of its three decks, with carbon fiber shark fins and three parallel stainless steel bars below the bow. The interior features floor-to-ceiling glass walls in places and extra-wide staircases.

Amenities

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. 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. The boat includes a spa, several bars, an elevated Jacuzzi with an ocean view, a gym and a movie theater. The living room fits 12 people and has a bar facing the ocean. The sun deck comes with a dining table, bar and dual-use fire pit that can also serve as a giant ice bucket. It also includes water toys such as jet skis and a 6.5-meter tender.

Production and delivery

The yacht was designed in California, and construction was set to begin in late 2016 at the Benetti factory in Livorno, Italy, with an aim to get it on the market by 2018. Its estimated price will be $37 million. 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.