NINETEENTH WORLD YACHTS TROPHIES: AZIMUT

At the ceremony, organised in Cannes on September 12, the Italian shipyard swept the field, winning a remarkable five prizes in the five different categories it competed in, including the most sought-after award of Yacht of the Year award presented to Benetti’s hybrid Giga yacht Luminosity The nineteenth World Yachts Trophies organised by leading industry magazine Yachts France proved to be a memorable evening for Azimut|Benetti Group. The highly qualified jury of journalists and key industry figures awarded a total of five prizes to five different yachts, three built by Benetti – the description-defying giga yacht Luminosity, the innovative Oasis 40M and the impressive Diamond 145 – and two by Azimut Yachts – the artistic Magellano 25 Metri and the nimble Verve 47, a sporty 14-meter open. Group CEO Marco Valle stressed that “being able to send five new and such different models to the same competition is in itself a record, but winning with all five of them is factual evidence of the unparalleled flexibility and very highest quality of our Group’s production and also of our capability of cover almost all the categories in the luxury motor yachting. I’m very pleased, this is a good sign to start my new job as Group CEO.” The most important prize was awarded to the most prestigious yacht. In the 82 meter and over category, Benetti’s hybrid giga yacht Luminosity won the “Trophée du yacht de l’année” (Yacht of the Year). Luminosity is over 100 meters of pure beauty and what can only be described as a glass palace that glides over the water. The exteriors of the giga yacht are a joint project by Zaniz Jakubowski, Andrew Langton and Giorgio M. Cassetta, while the interiors are entirely the work of Zaniz Jakubowski. With 800 square meters of glazing surrounding the Main Deck and three-meter high windows, the yacht conveys an unrivaled sensation of being suspended over the water. Luminosity is also packed with technology. The standout feature in a long list of remarkable technical specifications is the special propulsion system consisting of six generators, each rated about 1,000 KW, that support all onboard services and two Azipod of 2.200 KW each, making this giga yacht the world’s largest hybrid pleasure craft. Leading Luminosity designer Zaniz Jakubowski said: “I would like to thank the World Yachts Trophies for this incredible honour, particularly given the extraordinary strength of the field this year. As the designer of Luminosity I feel humble, and at the same time incredibly proud too. Working on the design of Luminosity from inception has been a wonderful journey, seamlessly joining both the exterior and interior in a yacht that was designed from the inside out that pushed boundaries both in its design and technical achievements.