[imagesource:bmw]

BMW has jumped into the ‘sustainability on water’ market with the release of their new millionaire’s toys named ‘The Icon’.

The luxury carmaker has launched the new yacht as part of their mission to ‘transfer technology and expertise from the road to the water’, in association with tech start-up TYDE.

Peter Dengler, head of THE ICON project, points out, “Mobility on water is nearly ten times more energy-intensive than mobility on land. In the meantime, however, professional sailing has come up with solutions for substantially saving energy, paving the way for climate-friendly solutions. There is currently no equivalent of luxury electric vehicles like the BMW i7 M70 offered on the water.”

The team who designed the yacht deliberately set out to not just build a boat, but to recreate the luxury experience of BMW on water, and by the looks of it, they succeeded.

In order to achieve this, they reached out to Guillaume Verdier, the world’s leading designer of sailboats, and responsible for the hull and hydrofoil of the last winning boat in the America’s Cup.

Unlike traditional boats, hydrofoil technology lifts the craft above the water’s surface to reduce energy consumption and achieve speeds of up to 30 knots (55km/h).

The innovative luxury yacht also features a 32-inch touchscreen display for navigation and a 360-degree rotating chair system for social interaction!

Take a tour and go for a drive below:

 

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In all honesty, I’ve never been a fan of BMW, but the fact that this yacht reminds me of a houseboat on the Breede River has more to do with the fact that I may never be able to afford a machine like this and less to do with the design.

[source:bmw]