In June 2015 it was announced that yet another superyacht with a name inspired by a James Bond movie would be built, the 66-meter Spectre. Commissioned by American businessman, John Staluppi, the superyacht is set to become his 7th yacht.
Active in the automobile industry since the 1950s, Staluppi is best known for building the fastest yacht on Earth, the 40-meter The World is Not Enough along with the rest of his Bond fleet that keeps growing in length.
Moving up from an 18-meter Viking boat, Staluppi commissioned the 36-meter For Your Eyes Only from Denison as his first yacht. The semi-displacement yacht was eventually launched in 1985 and became the first motor yacht to have a combination of MTU engines with water-jets in the US, which allowed it to reach a top speed of 30 knots.
In the late eighties, For Your Eyes Only hit a sandbar which led to her taking in water from a crack in the engine room. The yacht was eventually salvaged, refitted and renamed with some speculating that the following alleged legal actions, combined with the sinking of two other Denisons within a short amount of time, led to the bankruptcy of the US shipyard.
In 1988, Octopussy was launched as Staluppi's second yacht in a successful attempt to build the fastest yacht in the world. A defining moment for Heesen Yachts, Octopussy had to reach 50 knots in order for Staluppi to take ownership of the boat, which it ultimately did, reaching a top speed of 53 knots. Staluppi eventually sold the 44-meter yacht after having used her for close to a year in and a half, which allowed him to start working on his next project, Moonraker.
A fast cruising trideck, Octopussy now features an interior by Art Line. Fully refitted by her current owners in 2015, the 44-meter now has a sundeck with a Jacuzzi and raised sun pads. On the upper deck, she features a sky lounge and her sporty bridge along with two dinning tables to her aft.
Down on her main deck is the yacht's main lounge with a myriad of seating areas, tall windows, a bar area and a TV screen that slides out amidst ship. Towards the yacht's aft is a dinning table for 12 guests that can be either opened up in good weather or closed down with glass panels. Forward of the deck is the main cabin with four additional guest cabins on the lower deck. The yacht's current owner's are selling it at $4,995,000.
By the time Octopussy was sold, HH the Aga Khan, was building a yacht to overtake the crown of the world's fastest yacht. Staluppi therefore set out to build an even faster one and the 36-meter Moonraker was eventually delivered in 1992 by Norship with a design done by Dutch-based Mulder.
In 1998, Staluppi set up his own business in yachting, Millenium Superyachts that was to handle his project in the superyacht industry. In 2004, the newly created label delivered The World Is Not Enough, a 40-meter yacht with 20,600hp that could reach a top speed of 70 knots but couldn't steer past 66 knots according to the owner.
In October 2007, Staluppi acquired a project in-build from Henry Luken, co-owner of Christensen Shipyards. In 2008, the 49.6-meter Casino Royale which can cruise at a more regular speed of 12 knots, was delivered to her new owner. Built out of composite, the full displacement yacht came in at just under 500GT. It was later listed for sale in December 2008 and sold in April 2009 to Californian businessman, David McDonald.
Built with a more traditional, American audience in mind, Casino Royale features a straightforward layout with a full-beam master cabin forward of the main deck, 2 guest, 2 twin and one VIP cabin on the lower deck. With two tenders and three jet skis carried onboard, Casino Royale features a lounge on the main deck and a sky lounge as well.
In July 2009, Staluppi acquired Midlandia, a 52-meter Benetti with an asking price of €19,950,000, which he renamed to Quantum of Solace and extensively refitted. In August 2009, he listed the boat for sale again at an asking price of $24,995,000 and eventually sold it, two years later, in July 2011.
Designed with Italian roots at its heart, Quantum of Solace has a layout more typical of yachts found in the Mediterranean. Its main tender is brought into a tender garage aft of the lower deck, with a foldable platform for swimming. This clears out the sundeck for lounging, sunbathing, casual dinning and leaves enough space up there for a Jacuzzi.
In a configuration that has proven popular for charters, Quantum of Solace's main deck features a main salon and dinning room with an outdoor lounging area towards the aft. Up on the second deck is a large sky lounge with a playing table, bar area, lounging area and large outdoor dinning table.
In November 2011, Diamonds are Forever was launched for Staluppi who had acquired the yacht whilst in-built, 18 months prior to its delivery. Throughout the construction project, Staluppi made several substantial improvements including the addition of an extra top deck.
Originally intended to be chartered out by its owners, Diamonds are Forever was listed for sale in August 2012, asking $63 million. In October 2012, her asking price was reduced to $59.5 million and she was eventually sold in December 2013.
With a number of features mirroring the Quantum of Solace, such as the large bar area in the sky lounge, Diamonds are Forever became a refined version of Staluppi's previous builds. The main attribute that set the yacht apart from other Benetti's of her size is the addition of a fifth deck to act as a sunbathing area, creating a second master cabin on the upper deck and pushing the bridge up to the third deck.
Born in Brooklyn in 1947, Staluppi started as a mechanic at 16 years old with a life long passion for cars during the golden era of automobiles. His first business became a Sunoco station, which he established thanks to a loan that his father took on.
After establishing a chain of gas stations, Staluppi risked bringing on an unknown car manufacturer at the time to the American market, which is now known as Honda. After 10 years, Staluppi established 20 dealerships of Honda cars in the United States. After Honda, Staluppi established a network of dealerships of Hyundai cars.
An avid collector of cars, Staluppi had established a museum around cars from all eras and an extensive personal collection. In 2012, these cars were put up for auction by RM Sotheby's in Palm Beach and generated over $11,5 million in sales revenue.
"John Staluppi is larger than life and well known in the collector-car hobby. His collection reflects a very precise collecting philosophy, focused on securing only the very best." said Donnie Gould of RM Auctions at the time of the auction.
Commissioned in July 2015, Spectre will become Staluppi's seventh superyacht named after a James Bond film and will also be designed by Mulder.
Representing both the seller and buyer, Burgess has sold the 52 meter superyacht Lind. Lind was delivered by Amels in 2010. She is the sixth hull of the Amels 171 series. Her last refit happened in 2020. The steel and aluminum yacht features an exterior design by Tim Heywood, while her warm and welcoming interior was drawn by Laura Sessa. She features a large hot tub with sunpads on the sundeck, the sky lounge can be used as a cinema or family room, and an extensive selection of water toys. The main saloon has a spacious and comfortable L-shaped sofa, a dining table located on the front. Lind can welcome up to 11 guests in five cabins, including the full beam master suite on the main deck with a private office, lounge area, walk-in wardrobe and bathroom with hot tub. She is powered by MTU engines of 2000 hp each giving her a maximum speed of 15 knots and a cruising speed of 13 knots and has a range of 4,500 nautical miles. Lind’s last known asking price was EUR26,950,000.Credits: Yacht Harbour archive
December 8, 2022
The Amels 60 Project Witchcraft headed out for her first set of sea trials on the wintry North Sea. This 60-meter Amels Limited Editions is the second yacht from this all-new design series of which six yachts have been sold so far. The superyacht features exterior design by Espen Oeino and has a Gross Tonnage of 830 GT. Her timeless and elegant interior was designed by Canadian studio Burdifilek. She can welcome 12 guests and 12 crew. Project Witchcraft features hybrid power and propulsion technology, and the overall design focuses on the onboard user experience. There is an emphasis on space throughout with the large sun deck, swim platform and folding owners suite balcony and even space for a 9-meter luxury tender to be stowed on the foredeck. <iframe width=560 height=315 src=https://www.youtube.com/embed/xcnA5CQHjSE title=YouTube video player frameborder=0 allow=accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture allowfullscreen></iframe>The project was sold by Moran Yacht & Ship and in early 2023 she will be setting sail for warmer climates and a busy charter season. Damen Yachting, a division within the Damen Shipyards Group, was created in 2019. The division combines the pedigree and heritage of Amels yachts with a growing portfolio of SeaXplorer yachts and Yacht Support vessels.Credits: Damen Yachting
December 8, 2022
The 80 Sunreef Power Pronto is one of the latest Sunreef Yachts launches. According to the shipyard, ‘everything from beach-inspired décor, technical features to thoughtful custom layouts make this a perfect yacht for private holidays and exclusive charters’.Pronto's bright interiors feature natural fabrics, teak floors and relaxing color schemes. The saloon has an extensive seating area with two large L-shaped sofas, a dining table, a bar, a desk and a steering wheel placed in the forward part. Panoramic windows and skylights let plenty of natural light into the main deck.The door in the bow of the saloon opens directly onto the bow deck across the entire width of the catamaran with oversized sun loungers and a sunken seating area with hot tub.Pronto can comfortably accommodate up to eight guests across four en-suite cabins, decorated in a soothing style with natural wood and navy blue upholstery. Pronto's layout includes a spacious master cabin, as well as three cabins.The superyacht-sized Pronto flybridge has generous lounging space and continues the beach-inspired interior design. On the port side there is a bar for drinks with a large tabletop and high chairs. In the center of the flybridge is a large custom-designed table that can seat up to eight people. Aft is an elevated sunbathing area with sun loungers. Up to ten people can be seated at the large dining table in the aft cockpit of the catamaran. The lounge area also has a bar, 55-inch TV and a large sun lounger. Beneath the cockpit sofa is an inconspicuous Pronto aft garage that can carry a jet ski and an entire water toy park. The large stern platform of the catamaran serves as a private beach, offering plenty of space for sunbathing and water sports.Sunreef Yachts was founded by Francis Lapp in 2002 in Gdansk, Poland. Since then, the shipyard has been designing and manufacturing luxury sailing and power multihulls. Credits: Sunreef Yachts
December 8, 2022
Northrop & Johnson has announced the sale of Numarine 22XP Hull Number 6 by yacht broker Deniz Kaymaz representing both the shipyard and the buyer, together with Numarine Domestic Sales Manager, Ugur Sahin.This deal marks the second sale as part of an exclusive agreement to represent Numarine XP lines across the European Economic Area, including Switzerland.The 22.6m explorer exterior was designed by Can Yalman and naval architecture made by Umberto Taglivini. She is one of the most voluminous yachts in her size range on the water today. Her fuel efficient hull makes her ideal for extended Mediterranean-style cruising.Her teak-laid flybridge offers multiple lounging areas – a bar and grill areas, a large seating area at the bow with an arrangement of sunbeds. Aft, her unique swim platform can be lowered into the water for guests to cool off and has space for two chairs. Numarine 22XP’s indoor guest areas were designed to be warm and welcoming, with an L-shaped sofa for three and an additional two-seater sofa. Thanks to full-height windows on the main deck, guests can enjoy the passing scenery. The dining area can host up to six.The yacht can be configured according to the owner’s preference with options for up to eight guests. In the four-cabin layout, the owner’s suite is located on the lower deck with a VIP cabin, a double cabin, and a twin. However, in the three-cabin configuration, the master is situated midships with two VIP staterooms. The hull No. 6 will be delivered in March 2023. Numarine, a European high-performance motor-yacht shipyard headquartered in Istanbul, offers a range of yachts from 19 to 45 meters.Credits: Northrop and Johnson
December 7, 2022
CL Yachts announced the strong sales by expanding and strengthening its sales networks that are now global in coverage, following the launch of two brand new models, CLX96, flagship model designed by Jozeph Forakis, and CLB65.Over the past two years the production yacht builder, with headquarters in Hong Kong, has implemented a comprehensive expansion strategy in 2021 and 2022 to better focus sales activities in different international markets. The all-important US market will continue to be managed by the CL Yachts Office in Fort Lauderdale (USA and Canada) and Rex Marine Center Inc. in Norwalk, Connecticut. Likewise the CL Yachts Office in Hong Kong will continue to oversee sales in Asia and Europe, and Silverstar Marine Australia in Western Australia."We are delighted to welcome our new partners in Asia Pacific and the Middle East as part of the CL Yachts sales network,” says Martin Lo, Director of CL Yachts. “Their vast experience and local knowledge is invaluable to support our growth in these highly competitive and dynamic markets. 2022 has been a milestone in the history of CL Yachts. We presented two innovative yachts at FLIBS: the award-winning CLX96 and the newest B-Series member CLB65. Now our growing worldwide sales network has set us on a new journey and our next move will be to meet increasing demand in Europe.” CL Yachts’ goal is to offer unparalleled experiences to the modern explorer. The luxury performance brand stands apart from its competitors thanks to its unique approach to design – driven by CL Yacht’s core value of innovation. Fusing progressive design with engineering prowess and state-of-the-art technology, every element of CL Yachts’ vessels are meticulously geared to steer luxury into uncharted territories.Credits: CL Yachts
December 7, 2022