When hundreds of millions of dollars come into play, chit-chattiness goes out the window. A certain amount of discretion is expected (and much welcome) in all types of transactions, but luxury shipyards like Lurssen are taking it to the level of high art.
After years in development and a very successful launch in February 2023, and following extensive sea trials, Lurssen has delivered Project 1601 to the lucky owner. Despite the constant media attention on the superyacht, it remains a mystery to anyone but those directly involved in the build, and no one's talking.
But that's not to say we can't pick up on the clues and make a mildly-educated guess.
Project 1601 is a military-style superyacht that is neither the biggest nor the most expensive to come out of Lurssen, given its 90-meter (295-foot) hull and reported $250 million price tag. But that's ok because that was never the intention. Project 1601 is instantly recognizable and very memorable for the dull gray hull and the aggressive silhouette, which stands out for its sharp lines and angular corners.
The exterior design is by longtime Lurssen partner Espen Oeino, while the matching interiors were penned by Dölker & Voges Design. Lurssen says that 1601, which is now officially transmitting as Norn on AIS, was commissioned by a couple who are experienced owners, having sailed on a smaller Lurssen vessel for two decades. In other words, Norn is an upgrade over an existing superyacht.
If you follow the breadcrumbs, they lead to billionaire Charles Simonyi. Simonyi is a Hungarian-American software engineer with significant contributions to Microsoft products and who, as it happens, owned a smaller Lurssen vessel for 20 years. That vessel featured a similar military-inspired, all-gray design: Skat. He sold it in 2021 for an undisclosed amount.
Norn is bigger and, presumably, more luxurious than Skat – though if it's Simonyi’s, it must share the same tendency to brutalist minimalism in terms of interior design. With Skat, Simonyi wanted a superyacht that didn't look as if it was "carved out of soft cheese." He thought of yachts as floating homes made of steel and aluminum, and he wanted his to look just like that.
Norn is 20 meters (65.6 feet) longer than Skat and offers a volume of 3,600 GT, which would be enough to accommodate 14 guests and a crew of 20. Details about the interior have yet to be shared with the public or trade publications as of the time of press. Simonyi did talk to the media a few years ago about Skat, including the backstory of its conception and build, so here's to hoping we get a repeat.
Until that moment, the video below shows Norn hitting the water for the first time.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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