As if super yachts weren't audacious and expensive enough already. Sure,
today's top of the range vessels may come with cinemas, swimming pools,
helipads, spas, gymnasiums and supplementary submarines.
But that's nothing compared to the futuristic luxury cruiser envisioned by Russian businessman and designer Vasily Klyukin.
The Monaco 2050 is also a jet plane and a helicopter that can take off and land like a Harrier Jump Jet or F-35 fighter plane.
If
such a vessel comes to pass, it could ensure billionaires of the future
can quickly hop from the French Riviera to a New York City penthouse
without as much as getting their Bruno Maglis damp.
"I truly believe that we (can) create a future giving ... engineers direction to think," Klyukin said in an email to CNN.
As
it stands, there are no yacht-makers with concrete plans to turn the
Monaco 2050 vessel into a reality. Rather, Klyukin hopes to spark a
conversation and encourage fellow yacht designers to consider the
possibilities.
But that hasn't stopped super yacht fans chattering about the possibilities on social media.
Initial renderings show a
sleek yacht with a top deck that can quickly detach and transform itself
into a jet plane for long distance flights or a helicopter for shorter
airborne journeys using rotors that can be moved or adapted as required.
"The
upper deck is the part of the yacht and the independent aircraft at the
same time," Klyukin said. "If necessary, it will rise upwards with the
help of the screws embedded in the wings, becoming a helicopter.
"(It's
not possible) to cross the Atlantic or to fly to Hong Kong by
helicopter. Therefore, after gaining the necessary altitude and speed,
it's possible to turn on the jet engines and even go overseas."
Klyukin has designed a number of high-concept yachts before.
Previous
renderings include giant vessels shaped like a swan, the iconic
Manhattan skyline and an old-fashioned Mississippi steam ship with a
contemporary luxury twist.
He has also designed a number of buildings that are equally spectacular and ambitious, as displayed on his website.
In 2014, Klyukin also reportedly paid $1.4 million to buy a ticket to fly into space alongside Leonardo Di Caprio on one of the first Virgin Galactic flights.
Despite
the precise technology that would make the Monaco 2050 possible being
some way off, Klyuklin says he will see the yacht built in his lifetime.
"We shouldn't really have to wait for 35 years. Such a yacht can be started designing even today," he said.
"The
development of drone technology and the current achievements of the
helicopter industry allow aircraft to reach the desired height, and only
then, at the altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 meters, it can be switched to
the jet engines."
Until then, the
uber-wealthy will just have to slum it by cramming aboard helicopters if
they want to travel to and from their seaborne pads by air.
culled from CNN
