Click on yacht to enlarge.
BMW and boat maker TYDE are debuting “THE ICON” at 76th Cannes Film Festival, the luxury transport purveyor BMW said today. The boat claims to be the first battery-powered watercraft of its kind. BMW said it brings together emission-free travel with a top-to-bottom vision of luxury. (AutoInformed.com on: EV Boats – GM Buys Into Pure Watercraft; Glub? Aston Martin Going into Submarine Business!; Lexus LY 650 Luxury Yacht Revealed)
At 43.14 feet in length with a top speed of 30 knots, THE ICON is representative of the latest battery-electric watercraft. The project, err publicity/marketing promo?, is the work of people at BMW, TYDE, and Designworks, a BMW Group subsidiary with studios in Los Angeles, Munich, and Shanghai.
The construction of the concept was by boat maker TYDE. The electric drive system draws from high-voltage batteries supplied by BMW i. The “experience is accompanied by an exclusive soundtrack composed by award-winning film composer and frequent BMW collaborator Hans Zimmer.”
BMW claims that until now, marine electric mobility has been restricted “to smaller, slower craft with comparatively little range, and the segment for faster boats with longer range is dominated by models with combustion engines.”
Well, there is some performance heritage at play via the use of hydrofoils common in yacht racing. This type of hull form reduces the energy requirement significantly,~80% here per BMW, compared with a conventional design. The foiling technology – whereby the craft rides on wing structures below the water level, while the drag induing hull floats above the surface of the water – also in theory provides a higher level of traveling comfort with higher speeds.
Two 100 kW electric motors convert 240 kWh of energy supplied by six batteries from the BMW into a claimed range of more than 50 nautical miles (~100 km). The craft can deliver an operating speed of 24 knots, with a maximum speed of 30 knots. BMW said THE ICON “makes almost zero noise, without unpleasant vibrations or shocks and minimizing wake.” (AutoInformed.com on: BMW iX Flow Connected Directly to the Brain?)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
BMW Going with the EV Tyde at Cannes
Click on yacht to enlarge.
BMW and boat maker TYDE are debuting “THE ICON” at 76th Cannes Film Festival, the luxury transport purveyor BMW said today. The boat claims to be the first battery-powered watercraft of its kind. BMW said it brings together emission-free travel with a top-to-bottom vision of luxury. (AutoInformed.com on: EV Boats – GM Buys Into Pure Watercraft; Glub? Aston Martin Going into Submarine Business!; Lexus LY 650 Luxury Yacht Revealed)
At 43.14 feet in length with a top speed of 30 knots, THE ICON is representative of the latest battery-electric watercraft. The project, err publicity/marketing promo?, is the work of people at BMW, TYDE, and Designworks, a BMW Group subsidiary with studios in Los Angeles, Munich, and Shanghai.
The construction of the concept was by boat maker TYDE. The electric drive system draws from high-voltage batteries supplied by BMW i. The “experience is accompanied by an exclusive soundtrack composed by award-winning film composer and frequent BMW collaborator Hans Zimmer.”
BMW claims that until now, marine electric mobility has been restricted “to smaller, slower craft with comparatively little range, and the segment for faster boats with longer range is dominated by models with combustion engines.”
Well, there is some performance heritage at play via the use of hydrofoils common in yacht racing. This type of hull form reduces the energy requirement significantly,~80% here per BMW, compared with a conventional design. The foiling technology – whereby the craft rides on wing structures below the water level, while the drag induing hull floats above the surface of the water – also in theory provides a higher level of traveling comfort with higher speeds.
Two 100 kW electric motors convert 240 kWh of energy supplied by six batteries from the BMW into a claimed range of more than 50 nautical miles (~100 km). The craft can deliver an operating speed of 24 knots, with a maximum speed of 30 knots. BMW said THE ICON “makes almost zero noise, without unpleasant vibrations or shocks and minimizing wake.” (AutoInformed.com on: BMW iX Flow Connected Directly to the Brain?)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.