Italian car maker Maserati has partnered with Vita Power to create Tridente, a luxury all-electric powerboat that somehow managed to pack up to 600 horsepower.
The Tridente will carry an LOA of 10.5 m (34'5") and a battery capacity of 252 kWh. She will have a cruising speed of 25 knots (28 mph) and a top speed of 40 knots (46 mph) courtesy of twin electric motors, rather than the standard single motor you typically see in the electric market. She'll also be able to recharge up to 90% in under an hour.
She'll technically be considered a tender, but you'll be hard pressed to find a car afficionado who wouldn't gladly add one to their garage.
In the press release, the company says that "Vita Power and Maserati share the same vision for the mobility of the future with no compromise on performance and elegance."
Vita Power is a marine technology company that develops and integrates high performance electric propulsion systems for commercial and recreational marine use. Maserati, as you probably know, makes beautiful cars and has been around since 1914. Some of their gems include the Maserati 3500 GT (Gran Turismo), the Ghibli, and more recently the Quattroporte, but the list is plenty long.
The move by Maserati is seemingly part of a larger movement whereby boutique car manufacturers are dabbling in the marine market. It makes sense from an R&D perspective, as it allows both sides to advance their technological prowess. The boats benefit from electric propulsion knowledge already acquired by the automotive industry, while the automotive industry benefits by reaching their clientele (most of whom already own boats) in a new and burgeoning market. It's also a chance to apply automotive design features to boats, which always makes for some interesting vessels. Frauscher and Porsche did something similar with their 850 Fantom Air, while Lexus and Horizon went even bigger with the epic LY680 flybridge yacht.
The Tridente will be able to accommodate up to 10 passengers and can be configured for both recreational cruising or entertaining. A rear sundeck offers a large lounge space including a ladder for entry and egress. There's even a shower for hosing off in saltwater. An enclosed forward cabin includes a day berth with a sink if you need an escape from the sun. She packs a range of about 43 miles (70 km) on a single charge.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the Tridente, aside from her high-performance electric propulsion, is that she'll be made entirely from carbon fiber. The hull will be crafted by Hogdon Yachts, a U.S. boatbuilder based in Maine who've been in business for over 200 years. Like Maserati, their legacy is well known and well-respected, tracing all the way back to 1816.
There will be a lead time on orders for the Tridente, which is pretty standard for both high-end luxury cars and boutique yachts. It'll be about 10 months to have your boat built, but that's not all that short considering that many yachtbuilders plan 1-3 years out depending on the size of the vessel.
She'll also be packing a luxury pricetag of $2.85 million USD (2.6 million euros), which is on the high-end of the high-end for a boat in that category. But, when you're driving a high-end luxury yacht with a name like Maserati that was build by one of the most boutique boatbuilders in America, the pricetag isn't the main focus.
Being the coolest person on the lake is.
