The £300m catamaran that looks like a giant vintage sports car

Wheel-y incredible! The £300million catamaran that looks like a giant seagoing vintage sports car unveiled in amazing pictures

• The catamaran has four giant tear-shaped wings from which inflatable wing sails can be deployed 
• One of the cars that inspired the designer was an Auburn Boattail Speedster from the early 20th century 
• READ MORE: Traveller films her stay in an ‘exclusive’ cabin on Cunard’s £850m flagship Queen Mary 2

It looks like a giant seagoing vintage sports car.

Pictures reveal a stunning new £300million (€350million/$376million) catamaran called ‘Decadence’ that ’embodies the spirit of the 1920s, taking inspiration from the extraordinary automotive and aeronautical advances of the era’.

One of the cars that inspired the designer, London-based Andy Waugh, was an Auburn Boattail Speedster, a U.S model from the 1920s and 30s.

Four giant tear-shaped wings, known as ‘sponsons’ in boat-design-speak, give Decadence the appearance of having ‘wheels’, with crew able to deploy huge inflatable wing sails from these to boost performance and help reduce energy use ‘by around 30 per cent’.

And sports-car stability of the 80m- (262ft) long, 30m- (98ft) wide catamaran comes courtesy of submerged cylindrical hulls, which give her ‘a reduction in pitch and roll movement of around 70 per cent over a conventional monohull’.

Pictures reveal a stunning new £300million (€350million) catamaran called ‘Decadence’ that ’embodies the spirit of the 1920s, taking inspiration from the extraordinary automotive and aeronautical advances of the era’ 

Four giant tear-shaped wings, known as ‘sponsons’ in boat-design-speak, give Decadence the appearance of having ‘wheels’, with crew able to deploy huge inflatable wing sails from these to boost performance 

One of the cars that inspired the designer, London-based Andy Waugh, was an Auburn Boattail Speedster, a U.S model from the 1920s and 30s 

What’s more, crew areas and technical equipment can be housed in the sponsons and the submerged hulls – the latter making Decadence a SWATH, or ‘small-waterplane-area-twin-hull’ vessel – which means more space for guest features.

Waugh, who runs the firm Andy Waugh Yacht Design, said: ‘Her SWATH configuration opens up a plethora of new possibilities for creative interior layouts and spaces, for example the owner’s suite could be 20m (66ft) wide, 30m (98ft) long and have three-metre (10ft) ceiling heights.’

The design also allows space for two 14m (46ft) chase-boat tenders by Skyline Yachts – one with an open deck and one with a fully enclosed cabin.

The catamaran has submerged cylindrical hulls, which give her ‘a reduction in pitch and roll movement of around 70 per cent over a conventional monohull’

The vessel is 80m (262ft) long, 30m (98ft) wide and weighs 5,000 tonnes

The vessel’s sails, which when ‘combined with the slender hull’ should help reduce energy use by around 30 per cent

This unique vessel doesn’t come cheap – it’s estimated it would cost between £214million (€250million) and £300million (€350million) to build

The designer says of the tenders: ‘These can be used as luxury shuttles to shore with enhanced capacity and comfort over conventional limo tenders.’

‘Decadence’ is just a concept at the minute, though Waugh notes that it’s possible to go ahead with construction if a prospective buyer has the budget – between £214million (€250million/$268million) and £300million (€350million).

It’s thought it would take three to four years to construct the superyacht, which would weigh around 5,000 gross tons.

Waugh graduated from the prestigious Transport Design course at Coventry University and previously worked at London’s H2 Yacht Design firm. His first major project was the award-winning Meya Meya superyacht and he has worked on vessels as large as nearly 400ft (122m).

His firm is currently working on a new-build commission for an American tech billionaire at Dorries Yachts in Bremen, Germany.

Waugh, who runs the firm Andy Waugh Yacht Design, said the owner’s suite could be 20m (66ft) wide, 30m (98ft) long and have three-metre (10ft) ceiling heights

The design has built-in capacity for two 14m (46ft) chase-boat tenders that can be used as ‘luxury shuttles to shore’

It’s thought that the catamaran, which is currently just a concept, would take three to four years to construct

Andy Waugh previously studied at the prestigious Transport Design course at Coventry University

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