If you ever wanted to be like a James Bond villain, here’s your chance.
Solar catamaran builder Silent-Yachts has announced that its new superyacht, the Silent 120 Explorer, will be offered with the latest must-have toys for remote voyaging—an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft for heli-cruising and a submarine for underwater discovery.
And to make it all even more futuristic, the 120-foot yacht will power its toys largely by harvesting solar energy.
The first Silent 120 Explorer is due for launch in 2024. It features a nearly 46-foot- beam and the ability to cruise at 6 to 8 knots in economical mode, or up to 16 knots at full power. The cat features 40kWp (kilowatt-peak) panels to provide enough energy to cover the yacht’s hotel loads as well as fossil-free cruising autonomy. It has 800kW lithium-ion batteries driving 340kW e-motors and range-extender generators to give it virtually unlimited cruising potential.
The compact electric propulsion units create significant space that enables the Silent 120 Explorer to carry an eVTOL aircraft and an all-electric two-person submarine, in addition to the usual tenders and toys.
Silent-Yachts’ partnership with VRCO, designers and manufacturers of the Xcraft XP4 eVTOL aircraft will allow the XP4 to land on the roof of the Silent 120 Explorer, where large solar panels will slide outboard to port and starboard to reveal a touch-and-go landing pad.
The XP4, which is due for certification in 2024, offers transportation for up to four people, and is designed with an array of safety features including detection and avoidance technology, a ballistic parachute, and low-altitude crash prevention systems. The XP4 can be charged from the SILENT 120 Explorer’s solar panels but can also deliver power from its own battery to the yacht as a back-up power source.
The U-Boat Worx Nemo submarine offers diving to 330-foot depths for two people in an all-electric package whose footprint is smaller than two jet-skis.
The Nemo offers up to eight hours of autonomy, underwater speeds of up to 3 knots and positive buoyancy for automatic resurfacing in the unlikely event of an issue. The Silent 120 Explorer will have two options for carrying the submarine, either in the port hull’s tender garage or on the main deck next to the pool.
“In the Silent 120 Explorer we designed a boat that is bigger in volume although not in length, and bigger gives the opportunity to store more of these toys,” says Michael Köhler, founder and CEO of Silent-Yachts.
Maybe James Bond ought to get one, so he can silently approach his next villain.
