The Azimut Benetti Group will be exhibiting two innovative and important boats at Boot in Düsseldorf. Azimut Magellano 50 yacht launched only a few months ago is a boat that fully meets the environmental compatibility, safety and comfort requirements of the northern European market. Atlantis 44 is a step ahead in style and functionality in the sector of open habitable yachts.
Azimut Magellano 50 Motor yacht - Credit Azimut Yachts
At Boot in Düsseldorf, the huge industrial capability of a strong group like Azimut Benetti is reflected in two big innovative projects. Motor yacht Azimut Magellano 50 and Atlantis 44. These are both the result of the desire to market products that go beyond the existing boats, and satisfy the need to experience the sea in a new way where the passion for sailing feeds on a complete dialogue with the elements, and respect for the elements themselves.
The Magellano motor yacht range offers the market a new type of boat: the name of the great Portuguese navigator Fernäo de Magalhäes, the first to organise an expedition that sailed around the globe, was not chosen by accident. It represents the desire to propose boats able to sail in all conditions and also respect for the sea, fully meeting the new environmental compatibility requirements expressed by an increasingly mature clientele. The Magellano range is one of the four Azimut collections. The historic range consists of the flybridge motoryachts dedicated to the most combative market sector, reflecting the needs of those who are looking for boats that offer maximum cruising comfort, a range that begins with a 38 foot model with incredible habitability and offers many models up to thirty metres. The S sporting collection combines agility, performance and comfort, under the banner of innovation: Azimut 68S was the first mass-produced boat with large side windows, a solution that was immediately popular. Lastly, Azimut Grande, a collection of boats over thirty metres, with a renewed vocation in terms of customisation, catering for the ideas of the ship owners.
Azimut Magellano 50 was previewed during the Genoa Boat Show, and follows the first model in the range, Azimut Magellano 74, marking the company’s initial voyage into the world market geared to the new classic style. The Magellano yachts are the result of lengthy research which has explored new solutions in every fundamental aspect of the boat: hull, propulsion and interiors. In Azimut Magellano 50 the hull is the work of the American specialist Bill Dixon, with a special design which enables it to sail in dual mode: at low speed in displacement or at 24 knots in planning. The external look and the layout of the interiors are the work of Cor D Rover, and for the first time on a boat of this size four versions are available. All have an owner’s cabin in the centre of the boat and a VIP cabin; each cabin has its own bathroom and there can be a further cabin with overlapping berths and a sofa and/or study area in the central zone of the lower deck. The interior design is the work of the Azimut Style Department. The Azimut R&D Department has worked to develop a new hybrid propulsion available as an option alongside the latest generation common rail diesel engines – two 425 mHp Cummins engines with V-Drive transmission providing a maximum speed of 22 knots. The new hybrid propulsion features two 20kW electric engines making it possible to sail up to a speed of 8 knots relying on the batteries only, with an operating range of 8 miles with standard number of batteries (which can be doubled), or on the main generator, an option which greatly reduces fuel consumption (operating range of over 1000 miles) and raises the level of comfort, drastically reducing noise and vibrations. The system is called Easy Hybrid Plus and by means of the electronic control it is possible to switch automatically from electric to traditional operation by simply shifting the engine levers.
Magellano 50 is EC class A approved and can therefore sail in any sea condition, it holds the Rina Green Plus certification (first yacht in the world under 50 feet to obtain it), and the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification which certifies that the wood used comes from sustainable forests; the infusion lamination of the hull is carried out at the Azimut premises in Avigliana which have obtained ISO 14001 Environment certification.
As Paolo Vitelli, chairman of the Azimut Benetti Group says: “Magellano 50 is the result of years of experience and the commitment to propose a totally innovative project in which we explore the option of electric propulsion and a whole range of new solutions. For us it is a goal in the name of compatibility. It is important to point out, however, that at Azimut Benetti we believe that if you want to be serious about reducing environmental impact, you must work on general efficiency and therefore above all reduction in consumption obtained also with traditional technologies. On a large part of our range we fit low emission engines which comply with the most stringent standards comparable with Euro5 in motor vehicles, generators with fume purification and increasingly sophisticated black water systems. We have begun to propose natural fabrics and FSC certified wood processed with low pollution treatments in addition to synthetic materials which partly replace them”.
Atlantis 44 Motor yacht - Credit Azimut
Atlantis 44, also new this year, stems from the desire to renew the brand range with an ambitious and specific objective: achieve the best possible blend of sporting elegance and usability, offering maximum comfort for life in the open To help attain this goal, which involves both style and space, the group enlisted the cooperation of Filippo Salvetti and Marco Biaggi, who worked within Officina Italiana Design and founded Neo Design and collaborate with the shipyard’s Technical Department. Atlantis 44 and its big brother Atlantis 48, part of the same design philosophy, have become a manifesto of this new direction: products which communicate their values and contents without intermediation, in the simplest language – the language of the sea.
The main deck is a living area characterised by great continuity thanks to the one single level, which comprises three large sunpads, a dinette and galley area. It is protected by a hard top made of soft material selected for its lightweight characteristics and simplicity, ensuring freedom and safety for on-board passenger movement.
Below deck there are two double cabins and two bathrooms, with the owner’s cabin in the centre of the boat where it enjoys all the light and the views from the two side hull windows, and the VIP cabin at the bow.
In Dusseldorf Atlantis is exhibited with Volvo Penta D6 370 engines which drive it at a maximum speed of 34 knots. It is equipped with joystick for manoeuvring and Sky Hook system which enables it to maintain its position at a standstill without any intervention on the part of the helmsman.
Azimut Magellano 50 and Atlantis 44 are finalists in the BRANCHENTREFF 2011 –European Yacht of the Year-European Powerboat of the Year, awarded to six different categories by eight important European trade magazines. The Azimut Yachts dealer for Germany is Boote Feichtner (www.bootefeichtner.at) with head office in Linz and Latisana. Atlantis sales network on www.atlantisyachts.it.
Boot in Düsseldorf is a world reference point and is particularly important for the northern European market. This year it will be held from 22nd to 30th January at the Düsseldorf exhibition centre. The Azimut Benetti group stand is in Hall 6, the most recent hall, dedicated to large boats, position 6E42.
For further information: www.boot.de
