Skip to main content

The biggest, baddest, most extravagant superyachts ever conceived

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Opinions differ on what separates yacht from a superyacht. Some say 24 meters (about 80 feet) is the minimum length, while others stand strong at 30 meters (about 100 feet). As we take a look at superyachts, we’ll start with the higher cut-off, as there’s no shortage of interesting and, in some cases, outrageous superyachts out there. The vessels below are placed in order by overall length according to their designers. Some are currently for sale, starting at about $30 million, and there’s one for rent (you may not believe the weekly rental rate). Some of the superyachts below have been produced, while others are recent concepts, still waiting for buyers with hefty checkbooks to commission the build. Enjoy!

Spectre: 30.33 meters / 100 feet

The smallest superyacht in our roundup is also the fastest. The AB100 Spectre from Fila Group’s AB Yachts tops out at 62 mph and can cruise at 52 mph with three 1900-hp diesel engines, each paired with a waterjet thruster. The living space can be augmented by the stern garage area, which converts into a beach house.

PlanetSolar: 31 meters / 101 feet

The Tûranor PlanetSolar holds the title of the world’s largest solar yacht. The vessel is covered with 500 square meters of solar panels, its sole source of power. PlanetSolar launched in 2010 and set out to be the first solar-powered yacht to circumnavigate the globe, a leap forward for the promotion alternative energy. The journey set five Guiness World Records and spanned 19 months with a crew of five. SolarPlanet’s aerodynamic catamaran design has a top speed of 14 knots.

Majesty 155: 47 meters / 154 feet

Not just a boat with a pretty bow, the Majesty 155 is also a CEDIA Awards-winner for the best smart home technology installation and integration on a yacht. The ship’s lighting, navigation, and audio-visual system can be controlled via onboard monitors as well as an iPad. Twin 2,011-hp engines allow the Majesty 155 a 4,200 nautical mile range.

Time For Us: 52 meters / 171 feet

There’s room for 12 guests and 13 crew members on the classic Feadship superyacht, Time For Us. Launched in 1994 and renovated in 2007 and 2008, its extensive dark wood paneling and comfortable furniture are built for comfort, including stabilizer systems that are active underway and at anchor. With a range of 5,700 nautical miles at its 13-knot cruising speed, this yacht can take you wherever you’d like to go — if you have the time.

Recommended Videos

Galaxy of Happiness: 53.3 meters / 175 feet

Built by Latitude Yachts in 2016, Galaxy of Happiness offers zero-emission cruising using 40 percent less energy than single hull yachts. With exceptional stability, she cruises at 24 knots with a maximum speed of 30 knots. With space for six guests and six crew, she is currently for sale for just under $32 million.

Galactica Super Nova: 70 meters / 230 feet

Concert lovers will appreciate the Galactica Super Nova’s bow deck, which serves as an outdoor cinema and concert space when not in use as a helipad.

Swath 75: 75 meters / 246 feet

Zero emission fuel-cell technology powers Fincantieri’s Swatch 75 concept superyacht. Estimated range on hydrogen power alone is 450 nautical miles, with an overall 4,000-nautical-mile range under diesel power. The Swath 75 has space for 12 guests including the owner’s cabin and 24 crew members.

Silver Fast: 77 meters / 253 feet

Plunk down $85 million to reserve a permanent bed in the owner’s suite of the aluminum-hulled Silver Fast, named for its color and speed. With a full house of 18 guests and 18 crew, the Silver Fast can cruise as fast as 27 knots. Built by Silver Yachts and put up for sale by Burgess Yachts, guests on the Silver Fast can enjoy the beach club with gym, massage room and beauty salon, mirrored bar, 8-person hot tub, and outdoor cinema.

ModCat Project L3: 85 meters / 278 feet

With its hybrid catamaran hull, the BMT Nigel Gee‘s ModCat Project L3 cuts through ocean chop at speeds greater than 40 knots. This is thanks to twin water jet thrusters that work in conjunction with the diesel engines, according to Robb Report. A pair of retractable beach pads on each side of the vessel allow plenty of area for water play, just below an upper deck with space for a seaplane, a racing catamaran, and a high-speed rigid inflatable. Other entertainment spaces include a full-sized swimming pool, an open-air fire pit, and an outdoor cinema.

Mars: 90 meters / 295 feet

“Timeless aesthetics without compromise,” was Fincantieri designer Jonny Horsfield’s inspiration for the 90-meter Mars yacht. With “understated luxury,” its capacity of 15 passengers includes the owner and guests. There is also space for 29 including the captain, crew, and staff to attend to passengers’ needs. Mars has a top speed of 18.5 knots and at its 14-knot cruising speed, a range of up to 6,000 nautical miles.

Indian Empress: 95 meters / 312 feet

If you’d like to rent a superyacht before buying one, Burgess Yachts has many appealing choices, including the 95-meter Indian Empress. This floating rental palace cruises the Mediterranean year-round with a fixed rate of 750,000 euros (about $802,000) per week. You can bring 11 other people along as guests, choosing among 17 cabins. The crew of 33 will attend you as you enjoy the Indian Empress’ treatment room, beauty salon, sauna, steam room, massage room, cinema, piano, gymnasium, and gentlemen’s lounge with cigar room. Certified on-board instructors can train passengers in using the ship’s three tenders and four wave runners, plus kayaks, SeaBobs, scuba equipment, water skis, wakeboards, and tows.

108M: 108 meters / 350 feet

When walking around a yacht seems like walking in a nature park, albeit one with aluminum walls, you know you’re on a special vessel. Hareide Designs’ 350-foot concept superyacht, 108M, was designed for guests to imagine that they are communing with nature. The six-level boat has an upper deck garden and a 65-foot infinity pool in the bow. A beach deck in the stern slopes to the water. The hybrid 108M can run on solar power at slow speeds with energy harvested by 3,000 square feet of solar panels.

Private Bay: 120 meters / 394 feet

Fincantieri concept Private Bay designer Horacio Bozzo envisioned the superyacht for an owner who demands an authentic vessel that is luxurious while staying true to the ocean-life experience. The experience of private views and beaches can be shared with 17 other passengers and 31 crew and staff as they travel up to 18.5 knots and a maximum range of about 5,500 nautical miles.

Fortissimo: 145 meters / 476 feet

Sixteen guests including the Fortissimo’s owner can stay in eight suites while the captain, crew, and staff of 48 have their own quarters. Designed for impressive speed in such a large vessel, the Fortissimo employs propulsion diesel turbine engines and four waterjets to reach a top speed in excess of 35 knots.

Shaddai: 150 meters / 492 feet

Gabrielle Teruzzi’s Shaddai concept yacht attracts comment and controversy with its 125-foot elevated master suite complete with infinity pool, terrace, bar, and private dining area. Keep in mind that in relation to the vessel’s 492-foot overall length, the 125-foot owner’s tower (measured from the waterline, not the main deck), is the equivalent of a 5-foot “tower” from the waterline in a 20-foot boat. The rest of Shaddai’s design features includes port and starboard extending decks and an interior aquarium with a view up to the glass-bottomed pool on the main deck, which is also part of a 3,000-square-foot beach club. If the Shaddai were built as conceived, it would be the sixth largest superyacht in the world.

L’amage: 190 meters / 623 feet

Premiered by designer H. Bekradi from HBD Studios at the Monaco Yacht Show in September 2016, L’amage’s design is 32 feet longer than the current longest superyacht in the world (the 591-foot Azzam). Powered by a total of 95,000 horsepower from two diesel engines combined with a pair of gas turbines, L’amage has a projected top speed of 32 knots. Capable of holding 1,500 tons of fuel, the cruising range is about 6,000 nautical miles. In addition to a private apartment for the owner and quarters for the 70 crew members, the plan calls for 14 staterooms for a total of 28 guests.

Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown Contributing Editor   As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…
Juiced Bikes offers 20% off on all e-bikes amid signs of bankruptcy
Juiced Bikes Scrambler ebike

A “20% off sitewide” banner on top of a company’s website should normally be cause for glee among customers. Except if you’re a fan of that company’s products and its executives remain silent amid mounting signs that said company might be on the brink of bankruptcy.That’s what’s happening with Juiced Bikes, the San Diego-based maker of e-bikes.According to numerous customer reports, Juiced Bikes has completely stopped responding to customer inquiries for some time, while its website is out of stock on all products. There are also numerous testimonies of layoffs at the company.Even more worrying signs are also piling up: The company’s assets, including its existing inventory of products, is appearing as listed for sale on an auction website used by companies that go out of business.In addition, a court case has been filed in New York against parent company Juiced Inc. and Juiced Bike founder Tora Harris, according to Trellis, a state trial court legal research platform.Founded in 2009 by Harris, a U.S. high-jump Olympian, Juiced Bikes was one of the early pioneers of the direct-to-consumer e-bike brands in the U.S. market.The company’s e-bikes developed a loyal fandom through the years. Last year, Digital Trends named the Juiced Bikes Scorpion X2 as the best moped-style e-bike for 2023, citing its versatility, rich feature set, and performance.The company has so far stayed silent amid all the reports. But should its bankruptcy be confirmed, it could legitimately be attributed to the post-pandemic whiplash experienced by the e-bike industry over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a huge spike in demand for e-bikes just as supply chains became heavily constrained. This led to a ramp-up of e-bike production to match the high demand. But when consumer demand dropped after the pandemic, e-bike makers were left with large stock surpluses.The good news is that the downturn phase might soon be over just as the industry is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to a report by Houlihan Lokey.This may mean that even if Juiced Bikes is indeed going under, the brand and its products might find a buyer and show up again on streets and trails.

Read more
Volkswagen plans 8 new affordable EVs by 2027, report says
volkswagen affordable evs 2027 id 2all

Back in the early 1970s, when soaring oil prices stifled consumer demand for gas-powered vehicles, Volkswagen took a bet on a battery system that would power its first-ever electric concept vehicle, the Elektro Bus.
Now that the German automaker is facing a huge slump in sales in Europe and China, it’s again turning to affordable electric vehicles to save the day.Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schaefer told German media that the company plans to bring eight new affordable EVs to market by 2027."We have to produce our vehicles profitably and put them on the road at affordable prices," he is quoted as saying.
One of the models will be the ID.2all hatchback, the development of which is currently being expedited to 36 months from its previous 50-month schedule. Last year, VW unveiled the ID.2all concept, promising to give it a price tag of under 25,000 euros ($27,000) for its planned release in 2025.VW CEO Larry Blume has also hinted at a sub-$22,000 EV to be released after 2025.It’s unclear which models would reach U.S. shores. Last year, VW America said it planned to release an under-$35,000 EV in the U.S. by 2027.The price of batteries is one of the main hurdles to reduced EV’s production costs and lower sale prices. VW is developing its own unified battery cell in several European plants, as well as one plant in Ontario, Canada.But in order for would-be U.S. buyers to obtain the Inflation Reduction Act's $7,500 tax credit on the purchase of an EV, the vehicle and its components, including the battery, must be produced at least in part domestically.VW already has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennesse, and is planning a new plant in South Carolina. But it’s unclear whether its new unified battery cells would be built or assembled there.

Read more
Nissan launches charging network, gives Ariya access to Tesla SuperChargers
nissan charging ariya superchargers at station

Nissan just launched a charging network that gives owners of its EVs access to 90,000 charging stations on the Electrify America, Shell Recharge, ChargePoint and EVgo networks, all via the MyNissan app.It doesn’t stop there: Later this year, Nissan Ariya vehicles will be getting a North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapter, also known as the Tesla plug. And in 2025, Nissan will be offering electric vehicles (EVs) with a NACS port, giving access to Tesla’s SuperCharger network in the U.S. and Canada.Starting in November, Nissan EV drivers can use their MyNissan app to find charging stations, see charger availability in real time, and pay for charging with a payment method set up in the app.The Nissan Leaf, however, won’t have access to the functionality since the EV’s charging connector is not compatible. Leaf owners can still find charging stations through the NissanConnectEV and Services app.Meanwhile, the Nissan Ariya, and most EVs sold in the U.S., have a Combined Charging System Combo 1 (CCS1) port, which allows access to the Tesla SuperCharger network via an adapter.Nissan is joining the ever-growing list of automakers to adopt NACS. With adapters, EVs made by General Motors, Ford, Rivian, Honda and Volvo can already access the SuperCharger network. Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, and Jaguar have also signed agreements to allow access in 2025.
Nissan has not revealed whether the adapter for the Ariya will be free or come at a cost. Some companies, such as Ford, Rivian and Kia, have provided adapters for free.
With its new Nissan Energy Charge Network and access to NACS, Nissan is pretty much covering all the bases for its EV drivers in need of charging up. ChargePoint has the largest EV charging network in the U.S., with over 38,500 stations and 70,000 charging ports at the end of July. Tesla's charging network is the second largest, though not all of its charging stations are part of the SuperCharger network.

Read more