Luxury, glamour, wealth and confort are common things to an yacht. But then, there’s speed, that sometimes is overrated over the yacht huge size. And today, you well see a list where speed is the main reason for our top 5 of luxury yachts.
1. World is Not Enough (70 knots)
You may understand for the name of the yacht that is really, really fast that even the world become too small to “World is Not Enough”.
World is not Enough was built by Millenium Super Yachts, a company set up by American businessmen John Staluppi and John Rosatti in 1998 to build the fastest and most beautiful yachts in the world. Designed by Dutch naval architect Frank Mulder,”World Is Not Enough” is the only yacht to have reached 70 knots. She is propelled by two Paxman diesel engines and two Lycoming gas turbines, producing a staggering 20,600hp. But she is not just about speed – her interior, designed by Evan K. Marshall, can accommodate 10 guests and is as luxurious as any of the yachts featured on this site.
Lenght: 42.4 m
2. Foners (68 knots)
Foners (ex-Fortuna) was built for King Juan Carlos of Spain who is renowned for his penchant for speed. Javier Arce, head of Izar described her as a “formula one prototype” and she was crowned the fastest yacht in the World in 2000 when she reached 68 knots, beating the previous record of 66.7 knots set by John Staluppi’s Moonraker in 1992. She is propelled by three Rolls Royce gas turbines and two MAN diesel engines.
Lenght: 41.5 m
3. Wally Power 118 (65 knots)
The 118 WallyPower’s sleek design is the result of an extensive R&D program that included water tank testing at the SSPA facility in Goteborg, Sweden, and wind tunnel testing at the Ferrari facility in Maranello, Italy. The iconic yacht 118 WallyPower is driven by three Vericor TF50 gas turbines, each driving a Rolls-Royce Kamewa water jet. The exhaust system is made of titanium that saves weight while being very resistant to the high temperatures generated by the gas turbines.
Lenght: 36 m
4. Alamshar (65 knots)
With unique propulsion system (gas turbines) which so far has not been employed on any other yachts, it provides capability of speeds up to 65 knots. With no less than 6 gas turbines and 3 water jets she must be one of the most advanced superyachts ever produced.
Lenght: 50 m
5. Gentry Eagle (64 knots)
The look a like Concord of the sea, it’s also fast. Gentry Eagle was built by the late Tom Gentry, who set nearly every powerboat speed record in existence. His passion to win power boating’s most coveted honour, the Blue Riband for the fastest passage across the Atlantic, drove him to design and build the 34.1m, 11,500 horsepower Gentry Eagle. In 1989, he and a crew of five including his son, Norman Gentry, set a record time of 62 hours & 7 minutes beating Richard Branson’s previous record by an astonishing 23%. Gentry Eagle was relaunched as a yacht in 1992.
Lenght: 34.1 m
It’s curious to notice that, after all, the second biggest yacht in this list, it’s the fastest one. If you wanna know more about top yachts, click here.
