BMW Has a Super-Sleek, Futuristic, Electric Flying Yacht. It's Being Sold at Auction

Every company talks a big game when they're promoting their own products, which is understandable: they're vying for people's attention, and they're arguing that they're the best at whatever it is that they're doing. But there is such a thing as over-hyping a product or over-selling it by setting expectations too high, and that's probably what happened with The Icon.

Here is this revolutionary, futuristic, super-sleek, luxurious, all-electric "flying" yacht being auctioned off on Supercar Blondie's recently launched luxury auction platform. The fact that Tyde has listed it hints that it failed to secure a buyer even after the very warm debut and the countless rave reviews from popular influencers.

The auction kicks off on May 8, with the luxury watercraft selling out of Dubai, where the carfluencer also reviewed and took it out for a spin at the beginning of the year. There's no mention of a reserve or, as it happens with other auction platforms, of an estimate of how much it might fetch.

Make no mistake, though, The Icon is deserving of the praise it got for its unique design. It's based on a flat-hull trimaran with a prism-like superstructure that makes it look unlike anything else you'll see on water right now. The interior is very fancy, too, with swivel seats and a gorgeous lounge wrapped around in glazing – and the command center, inspired by the BMW iDrive operating system, is the centerpiece.

More than a yacht, The Icon is a floating VIP lounge but its biggest fault is that it puts more emphasis on style than it does on function. As we noted on a separate occasion, it doesn't seem to include a day head, which, if true, is a sad oversight, especially considering its length on water of 43 feet (13.15 meters).

As for it being a flying yacht, of course it doesn't really fly. The Icon is an all-electric foiling yacht, which means it rises on foils above the waterline once it reaches a certain speed, which reduces friction for a smoother, more comfortable ride and enhances efficiency. This allows it to max out at 27 knots (31 miles/50 kph) with minimal rolling.

Power comes from two 100kW electric motors paired with six BMW i3 batteries, which deliver a rather unimpressive range of just 50 nautical miles (57.5 miles/92.6 km) at a cruising speed of 24 knots (28 mph/44 kph). Both the estimated range and the top speed are below the figures advertised initially, of 54 nautical miles (62 miles/100 km) and 30 knots (35 mph/56 kph).

The differences are not significant, but they matter with a watercraft that was initially asking $2.6 million and came with the stated mission to "disrupt the luxury leisure world" and be "a radical change for good."

The initial announcement from Tyde said that these vessels could be retrofitted with better batteries as technology matured and that customization would be possible for each individual unit. The first model, which is not a prototype but the first production-ready showcase unit, comes with a gold and turquoise exterior finish and matching interior.