CF8, the Superyacht With a Car Collection Display, Remains Most Extreme Concept

Because yachting is simply not enough for billionaires, CF8 would have allowed them to show off their car collection at sea. How’s that for creating envy among your (similarly well-off) peers?

CF8 or Future Concept CF8 stands for “Cars and Family in 80 Meters” (263 feet) and is a concept superyacht penned by Sea Level Yacht Design in 2016. Today, it is as extreme and revolutionary, beautiful and bold as it was back then, so for this reason alone, it’s worth revisiting. It may never be built, but it’s a gorgeous study in yachting architecture and what happens when you let your imagination run wild, without any consideration for the financial.

That seems like a lot of big words for something that is, at the end of the day, a yacht, but CF8 was never a regular yacht. With a profile that resembles a knife that cuts through water, it features every luxury amenity imaginable, from an actual waterfall that feeds a massive outdoor pool, to an eight-car museum behind walls of glass, and a shape that turned traditional naval architecture principles on their head.

Sea Level imagined CF8 made of composite materials that are both durable and extremely light, allowing for a design where the hull and the superstructure would be inextricably linked. In the gap in the middle of the vessel would be a giant outdoor pool that could turn into a dance floor at the press of a button. Feeding it from an actual river on the upper deck is a waterfall that falls two decks, because sailing the seas and being surrounded by water is simply not enough water when you’re a billionaire.

Above the main deck, there’s a giant globe of glass that contains the living quarters and, on top of it, what could have been, if CF8 had been built, the world’s first floating car museum: a 102-square-meter (1,100 square feet) auto gallery with room for no less than eight vehicles. The massive glazing would allow viewing of the collection from all points, which would cause quite a stir when docked.

Bringing the cars on board is possible through a hydraulic platform lift that tucks away into the main deck when not in use. Simpler versions of this platform lift have been used on superyachts for years, lowering swimmers from the main deck to the water, where they double as swimming platforms.

“It’s not so nice to see working, maybe,” design director Van der Knaap told the BBC at the time, “but it’s a system we’ve been using on a smaller scale for 3 or 4 years and it’s proven technology.” In other words, putting an entire car collection on a superyacht is feasible. Insurance at sea for said collection is probably the more challenging part.

CF8 is designed with accommodation for up to 12 guests in eight VIP cabins, with extra cabins for nanny and butler (of course!), and staff. The VIP cabins come with ensuites and walk-in wardrobes, and the owner’s suite gets its own deck with eight-person jacuzzi and 250 square meters (2,690 square feet) of private space. A cinema, well-equipped gym, a spa area with sauna, a touch-and-go helipad and generous sun deck are scattered throughout, providing plenty of entertainment for the dozen guests.

When all options are exhausted, there’s the impressive collection of water toys, all of them stored in the tender garage: two 10-meter (32 feet) tenders, four Waverunners, and a DeepFlight Dragon personal submarine.

Designed with stability and comfort in mind, CF8 is no slug. The designers imagined it would reach top speeds of 18 knots and have a range of about 5,000 nautical miles.

Pricing based on gross volume would place this vessel in the $300 million range before upgrades to the trim package. But what’s a few more millions when you get to show off your car collection to boaters, while swimming in your own waterfall on a yacht?