Designworks’ yacht collab previews luxury interior

Cannes is known by most of the world by its famous film festival and the glitterati that event attracts. But something completely new was recently introduced at Cannes — not on the silver screen, but out in the harbor. BMW Designworks and TYDE Yachts introduced THE ICON, a new type of personal luxury yacht.

With a unique shape and hull, THE ICON will definitely stand out in the harbor, and not necessarily for its size. At a modest 13.15 metres, THE ICON might be lost amoung the superyacht crowd. But its uniqueness will be readily apparent when it sails away from the dock.

Instead of the traditional yacht shape, THE ICON has a vaguely trapezoidal horizontal profile, and might be mistaken for a more rakish version of the humble houseboat found on American lakes. But in plan and in a bird’s eye view, the arrow shape of the craft becomes readily apparent.

The rear of the craft is 4500mm wide, allowing for a glass door that allows for a generous entry into the luxury lounge. The sides are largely glass to allow for unparalleled views from the lounge. The front of THE ICON tapers to a point — it doesn’t have a bow in the traditional sense as the front of the cabin is the bow.

And, at speed, the full mass of THE ICON lifts out of the water to reveal its true nature. THE ICON is a hydrofoil, not a traditional leisure yacht. Taking its cue from racing yachts, with their wing shaped structures below the water level, the hull of THE ICON rides above the waves, providing a greater level of traveling comfort and higher traveling speeds, all while reducing energy requirements by up to 80 percent.

Powered by a pair of 100KW electric motors, with a 240KWh battery pack sourced from the BMW i3, THE ICON can cruise at a speed of 24 knots, with a top speed of 30 knots and a range of 50 nautical miles (100km).

At the interior, sculptural seating allows for viewing of the passing waterscape, or, with a slight twist, allows for re-positioning to for socialising as a group, for casual visiting or as a unique space for business meetings.

And complementing the luxurious interior is an equally luxurious sound system with a bespoke soundtrack composed by the award-winning film score composer Hans Zimmer.

The traditional suite of nautical controls has been replaced by a BMW-style wheel and a 32-inch 6K resolution touch screen, with BMW Operating System 8. Critical information such as range and weather reports can be summoned with voice commands.

Several press photos from BMW show the new BMW i7 M70 sedan also being introduced at Cannes. The relationship between THE ICON and the electric luxury sedan is not lost on us.

Is THE ICON the future of the luxury sedan — a watercraft as a new executive ‘car’? Think of the many cities that currently have, or historically have had, strong waterways. Not just Venice, but Milan, New York, Amsterdam, Seattle, Hong Kong, Bangkok, St. Petersburg, and yes, London, just to name a few. In an era of rising sea levels, have BMW and TYDE just shown us future?