In the world of luxury motor yachts there has, until recently, been little that one could call truly modern in design. Apart from the bravely angular and architectural Wally boats, the design literate billionaire had little choice to match their Zaha Hadid summer house, Alfred Haeberli lounge chair or Bang & Olufsen home cinema equipment.
Step forward Swiss company Code X. Their 47′ 7” catamaran has a daringly minimalist and mean origami-meets-Tie-fighter look to it and matches avant garde styling with equally cutting edge technology.
Depending on one’s mood the Code X can either be thrust along at a brisk 80 knots by twin Ilmor formula one engines, delivering a hefty 710hp a piece, or at a more leisurely 9 knots by the twin electric motors. These can provide up to two hours of service when running off the lithium batteries and when they run dry there is also the option of continuing for an unlimited period using power generated by the catamaran’s on-board solar panels.
As if the choice of power sources wasn’t enough the Bond-villain factor is upped even more by details such as touch screen control and a GPS-controlled ‘virtual anchor’ system that utilises the electric motors to maintain a stationary position regardless of wind or currents.
Code X is based in Meggen on the shores of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland.
