The Yacht Insider: Megayachts on Land
Land Rover Partners with Edmiston and Company to design "Superyacht" version of popular Range Rover.
Okay, so that headline is a little bit misleading. But it's not every day that you get a chance to buy a vehicle created by some of the world's leading megayacht designers.
In April 2008, the large-yacht brokerage and charter firm Edmiston & Company announced a contest in partnership with Land Rover to have megayacht designers create unique versions of the Range Rover vehicle. The designers were asked to provide sketches of "the ultimate Superyacht Range Rover," using the principles of superyacht design and incorporating the Edmiston logo in at least a small way.
Many of the world's top designers responded, including Andrew Winch (the 196-foot Benetti Xanadu), Martin Francis (the 387-foot Blohm & Voss Sigma), Ken Freivokh (the 288-foot Maltese Falcon), Terence Disdale (the 235-foot Kogo), Tim Heywood (the 295-foot Lurssen Ice), Redman Whitley Dixon (the 182-foot Feadship Twizzle), and Bannenberg (the 236-foot Feadship Predator).
Those yachts—just a sampling of each designer's work—are what you'd find if you looked up the word "impressive" in a superyacht dictionary. The Range Rover designs these guys created all have the same sense of style, with everything from fold-down "transoms" for picnics to 360-degree outdoor views. The Winch design even includes what appears to be a teak-topped "dinghy" being towed behind the vehicle a la a camping trailer.
Edmiston plans to announce the contest's winner next month at the Monaco Yacht Show, where anyone will be able to plunk down 200,000 to 300,000 euro and take home the built-to-order model of their choice.
That's no small amount of cash, but it's certainly a lot less than an entire superyacht—and owners will still be able to say they own "a Disdale" or "a Heywood" design.
Fellow drivers on the road may not know what that means, but certainly, these will be among the coolest vehicles for marina arrivals. In the face of these exciting designs, limos suddenly seem so very passé.
Editor's Note: Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of five books including Dream Cruises: The Insider's Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, and is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com. Kim also edits www.BoatNameGame.com, which invites readers to submit and comment on funny, interesting, and bizarre boat names.
