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.
Dutch shipbuilder Feadship has shared photos of the 52m Gallant Lady, which has returned to the yard for refitting.“After she passed a meadow with cows, characteristic Dutch houses, various bridge structures and aqueducts, we welcomed the 52.46m Gallant Lady back to our shipyard for a refit,” according to the shipyard's Facebook page. Feadship was formed as a group in 1949 as a marketing partnership between six Dutch shipyards, de Vries Lentch, Van de Stadt, Witsen & Vis, Akerboom, De Vries Scheepsbouw and Van Lent Shipyard, and De Voogt Naval Architects. Feadship is well-known as one of Netherlands’ most elite yacht builders and delivers superyachts from 50–100+ meters in length.Credits: Feadship
July 30, 2021
Extra Yachts, a brand of ISA Yachts, has launched the new X96 Triplex. Francesco Guida penned the exterior lines while Hot Lab studio designed the interior. Extra X96 Triplex can accommodate ten people in five cabins of which the full-beam owner cabin on the main deck, and the other four very spacious guest cabins (two VIP cabins with central bed and two cabins with single beds) below deck.X96 Triplex is a comfortable, spacious, elegant boat, designed with no boundaries for fashion and technical solutions, ultimately a mature and well-built boat.The X96 Triplex semi-displacement propulsion system can rely on three powerful Volvo Penta IPS engines of 1000 horsepower each capable of pushing it up to a maximum speed of 16.5 knots and a cruising speed of 12 knots.The Extra Yachts range now offers three distinctive lines: Fast, Loft and Triplex. The world premiere of Extra X96 Triplex will take place at the Cannes Yachting Festival.Palumbo Superyachts began to take root in 2008, when the Columbus Yachts brand was established, and in 2011 launched its first 54 metre superyacht, emblematically christened “Prima” (“the First”). Currently, Palumbo Superyachts comprises a representative office in Monaco and a logistics network of five shipyards in the Mediterranean (Ancona, Malta, Marseille, Naples, and Savona), and also operates the following brands: ISA Yachts, Columbus Yachts, Mondomarine and Palumbo SY Refit.Credits: Extra Yachts
July 30, 2021
Camper and Nicholsons welcomes a brand new Amazon expedition vessel to its fleet, the 62.40m Aqua Nera. The 20-cabin vessel Aqua Nera was custom-made to cruise the Amazon. With low impact smokeless engines and a shallow draft of just 1.5m, she causes minimal disturbance and wake. Architectural agency Noor, who designed the Raffles Hotel in Angkor Wat and Furaveri in the Maldives, styled all 20 capacious suites with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a revolving Amazonian panorama. Hardwood decks the public spaces, which include an open-air cinema, observation deck, plunge pool, boxing gym, billiard room with customised black table, two spa treatment rooms, infirmary and a tropical chic lounge. The fine dining salon offers cuisine from consulting chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, whose Malabar restaurant in Lima ranks among San Pellegrino's World’s Best Restaurants. River fish ceviche and coca leaf cookies grace his gourmet 'rainforest to table' menu.Aqua Nera is the most luxurious river vessel on the Amazon, the most biodiverse area on earth. Peru’s Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, where Aqua Nera offers exciting itineraries, is home to jaguars, pink river dolphins and 449 species of bird including white-throated toucans and capped herons. Her expert naturalist guides lead small groups on flooded forest encounters using four fast explorer skiffs. Other once-in-a-lifetime experiences include kayaking to a secret freshwater ‘swimming pool’ and mountain biking through an Amazon river town. The arrival of Aqua Nera is a story in itself. In July 2020 the 800 ton vessel departed her shipyard in Ho Chi Minh City for a 35-day transport through the Indian and Atlantic Oceans to the mouth of the Amazon. Here her owner, Francesco Galli Zugaro, took charge of the vessel during her 2,000km upstream voyage through Brazil to Peru.“Francesco’s latest launch proves that he can place luxury vessels in the world’s hottest destinations, just as he did with Aqua Mekong in Cambodia and Vietnam in 2014 and Aqua Blu in Raja Ampat and the Spice Islands in 2019. They can all be chartered using Camper and Nicholsons brokers alongside a dozen other explorer yachts from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean,” says Sacha Williams, Camper and Nicholsons’ Charter Marketing Director.Credits: Camper and Nicholsons
July 30, 2021
The sale of the tenth unit completed by Sanlorenzo Greece, represented by Ekka Yachts. 500Exp is one of the most favoured models for owners, the yacht combines Sanlorenzo's elegance with large, articulated spaces on board and the latest technologies. At 47m in length and with a tonnage of just under 500 tonnes, the 500Exp is distinguished by its exceptional sailing performance, with a high cruising range of 4,000 nautical miles, enabling it to navigate along the coast with minimal consumption and to make ocean crossings with ease. The new model offers accommodation for 12 guests in six cabins and for nine crew members in five cabins. The 500Exp features an exterior design by Francesco Paszkowski. The lower deck houses a beach club with a bar which, thanks to the opening and folding hatch, becomes another terrace overlooking the sea that can be transformed into a garage to accommodate tenders up to seven meters long. A seaplane or submarine can also be included with the yacht at the owner’s request.The yacht is scheduled for delivery in June of 2023. With the tenth vessel in the Explorer line, Sanlorenzo has sold its eighth metal superyacht between 44 and 57 meters in just two and a half months.Sanlorenzo was founded in 1985 in Viareggio by yacht builder Gionvanni Jannetti. In 2005, Massimo Perrotti became the majority shareholder in the shipyard. Sanlorenzo builds yachts ranging from 28.60 to 62 metres in length. Credits: Sanlorenzo
July 30, 2021
Antalya-based Alia Yachts has launched its new 55m superyacht Al Waab II. Al Waab II remains below the 500GT threshold by emphasising the hull form and exterior areas, including a sprawling beach club. With design and engineering by Vripack and Dubai-based SF Yachts serving as the owner’s representative during the build, the yacht can sleep up to 12 guests in six staterooms and includes a lavish split-level master suite on the upper deck. “We’re very proud of Al Waab II. We believe it is the longest steel and aluminium yacht below 500GT in the world, setting a new standard in external and internal volumes offered to a client in this category,” says Alia President, Gökhan Çelik. “Yachts are getting longer and wider, but owners still want to stay below the 500GT mark. We’ve seen increasing interest in this kind of yacht and so to be one of the first with such an impressive project is an important milestone for Alia.”“For many owners, the concept of enjoying a ‘home at sea’ is what drives their passion for yachting,” says Bart Bouwhuis, Co-creative Director at Vripack. “The owner of Al Waab II had the explicit desire to use his boat as a family apartment. That desire became the founding principle of the entire design. The result is the very essence of living on the water.”Once outfitting is complete, Al Waab II will undergo sea trials before delivery to her owner. The official World debut will take place late September 2021.Alia Yachts was founded in 2008 by Gokhan Çelik and Omer Koray. Located in the port of Antalya on the beautiful Turkish Riviera, Alia Yachts shipyard currently occupies approximately 8,000 m2, including three construction halls with their suites of specialist workshops and a dedicated interiors facility. With an additional 16,000 square meters under development for 2019, Alia Yachts will rank among the top facilities in the region.Credits: Alia Yachts
July 29, 2021