Can a motor yacht feel like a sailing ship?

Smooth, sleek, and 70 metres long – made of steel and aluminium, Project Thunderball will soon be gliding across the Mediterranean. An alternative to the floating palaces of recent times, this superyacht concept is an expression of its uncompromising owner’s vision.

The client – a passionate regatta sailor – had one wish: a motor yacht that doesn’t feel like one. No clunky silhouette, no overloaded decks. Instead: lines straight out of the classic modern sailing book. Sleek, low-lying, elegant – a ship that doesn’t defy the water, but rather embraces it.

Vripack designs a maritime retreat

Thunderball was designed by Dutch design studio Vripack. The team has been working with the owner on every detail since 2018. The result is a kind of design dialogue in five acts – in other words, five decks, each carefully thought out down to the last curve. A glass conservatory lounge crowns the ship, below which are living spaces that are more art installation than interior. Vertical window lines, as precise as those found in a Japanese tea garden, lend a sense of calm to the form.

At the stern: a huge bathing platform, almost like a private beach. Inside: space for twelve guests and 15 crew members. But Thunderball doesn’t just want to be a host – it also wants to join in with some sailing, in spirit at least. It serves as a support vessel for the owner’s sailing yacht. A floating stage for regatta events, a retreat, an observation post. No wonder even the bow looks as if it wants to sail close to the wind.

The road to Thunderball

‘The owner has an extraordinary eye,’ says Marnix Hoekstra, Co-Creative Director at Vripack. ​‘He challenges, questions – and inspires.’ Thunderball was not simply built. It was developed from an idea that rarely finds a place in the world of superyachts: Restraint. Precision. Soul.

There is still some fine-tuning to be done before delivery in 2026. The interior is the work of Nauta Design, with project management by Y.CO. And when Thunderball finally launches, it will be more than just a new toy for some rich person. It will be a statement – promoting feeling in the face of all the noise.

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