Steve Jobs’ yacht unveiled in front of family, named ‘Venus’

Several years before his death in 2011, Steve Jobs began working with Phillippe Starck on the design of a luxury yacht. On Sunday, it was unveiled at a special ceremony in the Netherlands.

The yacht that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs helped to design has been unveiled in the Netherlands just over a year after his death.

The building of the yacht was something of a pet project for Jobs and had been in the works for over five years.

Designed with the help of the acclaimed French product designer Philippe Starck and built by Dutch custom yacht builder Feadship, the 80-meter-long vessel is made with lightweight aluminum and features 3-meter-high clear glass windows as well as a large number of 27-inch iMacs on the deck. Sounds like a floating Apple store, some might say. Indeed, according to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs published shortly after his death in October 2011, the former Apple CEO called on the skills of the chief engineer responsible for the Apple stores, asking him to design special glass that would be able to provide structural support for the vessel.

Named Venus after the Roman goddess of love, the unusual looking boat – whose design will certainly not be to everyone’s taste – was reportedly unveiled at a special ceremony in Aalsmeer in the Netherlands on Sunday. Jobs’ widow Laurene and children Reed, Erin and Eve were at the launch.

Speaking to the BBC about the vessel, Starck said, “Steve and I shared the same idea about the elegance of the minimal, the elegance of work well done,” while  at the same time admitting that it does “look strange for a boat.”

In Isaacson’s biography, the Apple co-founder said that despite being seriously ill with pancreatic cancer, he couldn’t suddenly stop working on the design of the boat.

“I know that it’s possible I will die and leave Laurene with a half-built boat,” he told Isaacson, “But I have to keep going on it. If I don’t, it’s an admission that I’m about to die.”

It’s not clear when Venus will make its maiden voyage, or indeed what plans the Jobs family has for the vessel, though we guess at some point it’ll be transported to a location close to their California home.

[Top image and video: onemorething.nl]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Mercedes-Benz collaborates with British yacht builder on luxury boat

Mercedes did the exterior styling and interior design on the 46-foot luxury yacht, dubbed "Silver Arrow of the seas."

Mercedes-Benz likes to remind people that it built the world’s first practical internal combustion-engined car, but now the company is branching out into other areas of transportation. The bearers of the three-pointed star recently teamed up with Britain’s Silver Arrows Marine to design a luxury yacht.

The yacht, nicknamed “Silver Arrow of the seas” in reference to Mercedes’ classic racing cars, measures 46 feet long and features exterior styling and interior design from the people who brought you the SLS AMG and SL-Class.

While the boat does not have any hood vents, turn signals, or gullwing doors, some automotive design elements can be glimpsed. The shape of the cockpit definitely echoes the curved greenhouse of a CL 550 or E-Class Coupe.

Mercedes also had major input on the yacht’s interior, which has enough space for overnight cruises. The interior can be reconfigured to serve as a lounge during the day and a cabin at night. The glass roof should provide spectacular views, or help passengers get an indoor suntan.

Don’t expect one of AMG’s turbocharged V8s in the engine room; Silver Arrows Marine handled all of the technical aspects of this project; Mercedes involvement was limited to aesthetics.

Like most Mercedes cars, this yacht’s sportiness is tempered with luxury. Mercedes describes it as an oceangoing Granturismo vehicle, not a speed boat.

The “Silver Arrow of the seas” sets sail in 2013, for a price that will probably surpass a small country’s GDP.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that Mercedes has lent its name to a boat. Cigarette owner Skip Braver used his connections in Stuttgart to create an “Inspired by AMG” 46-footer, based on Cigarette’s Rider XP.

The Mercedes-AMG-Cigarette was modeled on the SLS AMG and sported two 9.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8s from Mercury Racing, producing a total of 2,700 horsepower. However, the open-cockpit Cigarette did not have gullwing doors.

Cigarette and Mercedes renewed their collaboration earlier this year with a 50-foot boat inspired by the C63 AMG Black Series. That vessel was based on Cigarette’s Marauder and featured the same pair of Mercury V8s with the same, 2,700 hp output.

Dabbling in watercraft is part of an overall scheme by Mercedes’ parent, Daimler, to create an “all-encompassing mobility,” with vehicles of every sort designed by Mercedes’ stylists.

Despite having an abundant lineup of cars to work on, those stylists have found the time to work on other projects, including the Eurocopter EC 145 helicopter and a line of designer furniture.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com