Porsche Design Studio’s RFF 135 Yacht Nears Completion

If you were one of many thrilled at Porsche Design Studio’s announcement, back in September 2009, regarding the development of their latest RFF 135 yacht in collaboration with renowned yacht builders Royal Falcon Fleet, then brace yourselves! The futuristic superyacht (see another superyacht post on SQUA.RE) was recently moved to Nynäshamn in Sweden for final touches, bringing it even closer to completion.

The RFF 135 (named after the Royal Falcon Fleet’s initials) is a 135-foot catamaran featuring twin V-16 turbodiesel German MTU engines, each producing 4,600 horsepower, and two Rolls-Royce-powered water jets. Full-scale tests conducted at the Australian Maritime Ship Hydrodynamics Centre have achieved a sprint speed of approximately 35 knots, and cruise speed of 30 knots.

Aesthetically, the RFF 135 promises to be a futuristic beauty on the waters. Royal Falcon Fleet have described it as having “unique, space-aged, contemporary design,” “unmistakably a piece of modern architecture.” The vessel’s 472 square meters of interior deck space allows for one Presidential Suite, four Guest Suites, one Captain’s Suite and five Crew Cabins. This allows for a total of 10 guests and 10 crew members on-board.

The remarkable interiors (master bathroom, meeting space, and guest suite pictured) speak of a quiet but sharp elegance. The feel of understated luxury here is primarily a result of the usage of natural light to brighten the space, giving it a clean look, as opposed to choosing loud, glitzy furnishings that would not achieve the ambiance of a calming escape.

Porsche Design Studio, a subsidiary of Porsche AG offers a wide range of products. From high-quality casual and business apparel and footwear (P’1000 range), sleek, practical luggage (P’2000), sports and fitness apparel (P’5000), timepieces (P’6000) and more.  Headquartered in Austria, the studio also takes on external projects related to industrial and product design, thus accounting for its stellar reputation amongst the European design elite. The studio describes its design of the RFF 135 as “keeping with the functional, timeless and puristic hand” that the Porsche brand is known for.

The Royal Falcon Fleet, based in Singapore, and funded by investors in Sweden, are self-described as providing the “ultimate in billionaire boys’ toys.” Well-known among yacht-lovers, they manufacture mega-yachts crafted by European and Australian engineers, going out of their way to define luxury at sea. Spokespersons from the Royal Falcon Fleet have thus described the RFF 135, “Her unique, space-aged, contemporary design makes her unmistakably a piece of modern architecture. The design’s main focus is to indulge the customer with unmatched performance, comfort, space and luxury that suits a high-end lifestyle.”

The RFF 135 is due for completion in the fourth quarter of 2010, and will be priced at approximately $58 million USD. Royal Falcon Fleet allows a ‘fractional ownership’ scheme where owners pay a fee for a 10 per cent share of the craft.