World's Largest Sailing Yacht A

[weavis]

Talking of classics...
I LOVE these....

[Tayana42]

Originally Posted by weavis

Is beautiful but it floats like a brick...

I remember the VW Beetle ads that said it would definitely float, but not indefinitely. Perhaps with proper maintenance and good bottom paint...and a new generation anchor?

[a64pilot]

My Military High School roommate had one of these at home, God knows why, but it was fun.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by weavis

Is beautiful but it floats like a brick...

Yes, beautiful but not a great drive. A friend of mine recovered one recently.

Beautiful is a relative concept and a strongly cultural induced one. Anyway some cars, like some boats, tend to cross different beauty conceptions and the Jaguar E was one of them. There are others, many associated with designers that did not design only cars and not necessarily very expensive cars.

Italians have and had great car designers and one of them was Sergio Pinnifarina:





1968:




1969:


1954


https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/24245...6b60b606c0b6b1

1967

[Polux]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

My Military High School roommate had one of these at home, God knows why, but it was fun.

Here, something "similar" by Pinnifarina



That is one of the strangest cars I ever saw!!!

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

1970 Italian Ferrari Daytona vs the 1970 Detroit Superbird monstrosity.

An interesting comparison.

What follows is written in a friendly tone of voice, as in a dialog among friends.

As I see it, they are just examples of design for their target markets, just as the Yacht "A" is too.

I have seen both cars in races on race tracks. They both appeared fast.

Who is to say which is the best design? I do think that is really a matter of personal taste, often influenced by others (friends, professionals, designers, journalists).

While I admired the Daytona, it does look like so many other cars (e.g. Nissan 280ZX, Porsche 924, Mazda RX7, etc.). Whether that makes it less distinctive or "trend setting" (or following), is a matter of POV.

The "SuperBird" on the other hand, does look like no other car (except the Dodge Charger Daytona) and stands out (by design). Yes, it is ugly to some (and that includes me), but to others, they love that look. And, as the Yacht A shows, having something that is "eye catching" because it looks distinctive (unusual) has some value to some buyers).

While I appreciate the fine craftsmanship of the Ferrari, the SuperBird would have been another fast ride and for a fraction of the cost of the Ferrari and most likely for much less maintenance and most likely more dependable too. It may not have handled curves as well as the Daytona, but it is probably more likely to handle a long drive across country (or across town) without costing an arm and a leg due to breakdowns.

Put another way, if I had to drive across the USA and could NOT afford to break down at all during the journey, I know which one I would pick. On the other hand, if that was not an issue, and cost was not an issue, my choice would be different. So it goes.

So, "horses for courses." Some people ride a Quarter Horse, and others ride Thoroughbreds. They both can get the rider somewhere.
_________

Some SuperBird Trivia from Wikipedia:
On the street, the nose cone and wing were very distinctive, but the aerodynamic improvements hardly made a difference there or on the drag strip. In fact, the 1970 Road Runner was actually quicker in the quarter mile and standard acceleration tests due to the increased weight of the Superbird's nose and wing. Only at speeds in excess of 60 mph (97 km/h) did the modifications begin to show any benefit.[16]

The Superbird's styling proved to be a little extreme for 1970 tastes (many customers preferred the regular Road Runner), and as a consequence, many of the 1,920 examples built[20] sat unsold on the back lots of dealerships as late as 1972. Some were converted into 1970 Road Runners to move them off the sales lot.[21] Some manufacturers produce Superbird conversion kits for 1970 Road Runners and Satellites.[22] Kits are also available for non produced 1971 and 1972 bodies for the Superbird.[citation needed] More recently they have been very steady in pricing, with them regularly fetching $100,000+ USD up to $200,000 however this does vary based on the engine, gearbox and other factory options on the car.[23][24]

The Superbird and the Dodge Charger Daytona were each built for one model year only (1970 and 1969 respectively).

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by weavis

You dont get out much do you...?[emoji3]
However.. is the BEST machine I have ever used hands down.

I really want one at some stage.

Not right now as I had operation Dec 1st on ruptured Achilles tendon.

[Steadman Uhlich]

POLUX,

Thanks for posting the photos of the cars designed by Sergio Pinnifarina.

His styling influenced so many.

Do you know if he ever designed any boats? (I don't know, but would like to see if he did.)

[a64pilot]

The difference in the Superbird and Charger Daytona was they were not "styled", they were not meant to be pretty, they were purpose built racing cars, form follows function and apparently just enough were built to make them legal to race.
Of course it did not take long at all for them to become illegal to race, as Chrysler hadn't been funding NASCAR so it stands to reason that they could not be allowed to dominate.

My lowly Fiat X-19 was a Pinnifarina design I beleive. I had a very unusual X-19, it was a Grey Market car imported by Jack Brundige before the X-19 was imported into the US, as such it didn't have those God awful 5 mph bumpers etc that the US cars did.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

The difference in the Superbird and Charger Daytona was they were not "styled", they were not meant to be pretty, they were purpose built racing cars, form follows function and apparently just enough were built to make them legal to race.
Of course it did not take long at all for them to become illegal to race, as Chrysler hadn't been funding NASCAR so it stands to reason that they could not be allowed to dominate.
...

Yes an no. The Superbird was a racing car and its looks were different from the road car. The Daytona was not a racing car even if some few cars were prepared by the factory as race cars. By the way, also a Pininfarina design and obviously designed to please the eye and that's why they used a designer (even two) for the looks:

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

POLUX,

Thanks for posting the photos of the cars designed by Sergio Pinnifarina.

His styling influenced so many.

Do you know if he ever designed any boats? (I don't know, but would like to see if he did.)

"The designer and maker are kept separate in the nautical world. Lurssen employed an in-house designer in the 1990s, but experience proved that clients liked diversity and the company needed to offer a wide selection of designs.

Pininfarina, the Italian consultancy mostly associated with sexy Italian performance cars, also dips its toes in yacht design. Vice chairman of Pininfarina Extra Francesco Lovo feels it is essentially about creating industrial beauty. For him the customer has to be at the heart of the project. ‘It is about the user experience, it is a matter of process, the emotional experience and how we interpret this.

His team didn’t set out to revolutionise the industry with the Ottantacinque, the latest superyacht designed for Fincantieri Yachts, nor with the Wallycento# designed for racing yacht maker Persico Marine, both very different propositions in nautical design. The Ottantacinque retains the essence of superyacht design by being ‘elegant, sober but not shouting,’ he emphasises, ‘which is part of the spirit of our design philosophy. We just wanted the customer to enjoy sailing.’"
Superyachts, how design can enhance luxury in motion







They had done the interior. Don't know if they worked on the exterior style, but if not then some designer had.

His most important work in yachts is on a big motor yacht, much more beautiful than the motorsailor that passes for the biggest sail yacht:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3OAb26hKE

[Kenomac]

The European Italian Ferrari Daytona looks fast and goes fast unlike the American Superbird which looks ridiculous and goes fast.... only in a staight line. And was still slower than the Ferrari.

Ferrari = forward thinking and timeless styling. Plymouth = WTF?

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Competizione
The first racing version of the 365GTB/4 was prepared in 1969: an aluminium bodied car was built and entered in the Le Mans 24-hour race that year (the car crashed in practice). Ferrari did not produce an official competition car until late in 1970.[9]


1972 Ferrari Daytona LM at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2010

The official cars were built in three batches of five cars each, in 1970-1, 1972 and 1973. They all featured a lightweight body making use of aluminium and fibreglass panels, with plexiglas windows. The engine was unchanged from the road car in the first batch of competition cars, but tuned in the latter two batches (to 400 bhp (298 kW; 406 PS) in 1972 and then around 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS) in 1973).

The cars were not raced by the official Scuderia Ferrari team, but by a range of private entrants. They enjoyed particular success in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with results including a 5th overall in 1971, followed by GT class wins in 1972, 1973 and 1974. In 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4s took the first 5 places of the GT class.

The final major success of the car was in 1979 (five years after production ended), when a 1973 car achieved a class victory (2nd overall) in the 24 Hours of Daytona.

[Steadman Uhlich]

POLUX,
Thanks for posting the photos in response to my question. And the text that gives some info on how Pinninarina has done some yacht design. I had no knowledge of that before, so you taught me something again.

And those photos of the Ferrari do look appealing.

The large sailboat does not appeal to me or I should say it does not strike me as being very different looking from others of that type that were also posted in this thread. They look very similar at a glance.

I watched the video about the motor yacht. I don't really like the looks of that large motor yacht. While some large motor yachts do appeal to me, that one does not.

I did see a photo of a large sailing yacht earlier today that DID appeal to me, but don't have the photo. So, different tastes.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The European Italian Ferrari Daytona looks fast and goes fast unlike the American Superbird which looks ridiculous and goes fast.... only in a staight line. And was still slower than the Ferrari.

Ferrari = forward thinking and timeless styling. Plymouth = WTF?
...

Hi ken,

Now that it is winter and you are in, or close to Italy, don't miss going to Modena, the Ferrari house, to have a look at the fantastic Ferrari museum and most of all, driving a Ferrari. In winter they make special prices and it costs about 100 euros or so.

I have done that some few years ago. Have a look:
https://www.facebook.com/paulo.perna...8744937599406/

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by Polux

Hi ken,

Now that it is winter and you are in, or close to Italy, don't miss going to Modena, the Ferrari house, to have a look at the fantastic Ferrari museum and most of all, driving a Ferrari. In winter they make special prices and it costs about 100 euros or so.

I have done that some few years ago. Have a look:
https://www.facebook.com/paulo.perna...8744937599406/

I did that a few years ago. Drove a 458 Italia and a California on the road

https://vimeo.com/48104800

and a F430 Challenge on the track

https://vimeo.com/49001704

BTW that American Superbird looks like it was designed by one of the animators from the Wacky Races cartoon or a design for Matchbox that was mistakenly sent to Plymouth