One of the World’s Largest Red Superyachts Shocks With Its Opulent Interior

In today’s world, modern luxury and sophistication seem to be synonymous with muted colors, neutral pallets, and minimalistic design. This is true, particularly for superyachts. Most of them don’t break away from the white-gray-dark blue color standard and so-called “clean” style. But once in a while, a millionaire owner will expect something else for his personal luxury toy. And this is how unique-looking, totally custom pleasure craft come to life.

Ipanema’s originality is entirely owed to its bold owner, who had a precise vision and wasn’t afraid to go against the current. The result is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but it wasn’t meant for the public either. It continues to be a private family vacation yacht, which means that it’s free to flaunt any look it wants, no matter how outrageous.

If “Italian” is the first thing that comes to mind when admiring this fiery-red beauty, you wouldn’t be wrong. The Ipanema is 100% Italian. Both its exterior and interior are the creation of a young design studio based in Milan, while the builder is Mondomarine, headquartered in Savona.

The comparison to a sports car was also inevitable. Antonio Romano, one of the Hot Lab founders, describes all of the studio’s designs as being elegant and sporty at the time, “like a real Grand Turismo.” He also believes “Italianness” to be a real thing, that could be defined as “great finesse.” And, referring to the Ipanema in particular, Romano playfully described it as “a yacht that’s wearing her lipstick,” while Mondomarine also named it “a lady in red.”

This striking creation came to life in 2016, as a fully-custom project. It was part of Mondomarine’s M50 range of aluminum, semi-displacement yachts, and one of the most challenging projects for Hot Lab. This creative studio was established in 2004 by two newcomers in the industry, Antonio Romano and Enrico Lumini. The name is supposed to express the mix of fiery creativity and innovative engineering that characterize all of their projects.

Ipanema’s first renderings, both for the exterior and its interiors, stuck to the usual minimalistic, neutral-color standard. But once the layout details were dealt with, the owner made it clear that he wanted none of that boring stuff when it came to the yacht’s look. As the designers seem to recall, he literally wanted to shock. And he was also a big fan of classical architecture.

This resulted in a yacht with a glossy red hull that’s impossible to forget, boasting surprisingly extravagant, Baroque-inspired interiors that are 100% custom-made. Ipanema almost seems to have a double personality.

From a distance, it looks like a masculine, sporty machine. It’s almost 50 meters long (164 feet), flaunting an aggressive-looking stern, and modern full-height windows that run along almost the entire main deck. This sleek silhouette also enables it to “fly” on the water at impressive speed, capable of hitting up to 20 knots (23 mph/37 kph). It doesn’t disappoint in terms of range either, ready to cover more than 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km) at cruising speed.

But this sporty, modern spirit completely dissipates on the inside. It’s like stepping into another world, one that is apparently inspired by the sumptuous palaces of Florence, back in the 17th century. Pilasters, friezes, and bas-reliefs aren’t the first thing you’d expect yacht owners to dream about, but this was the case for Ipanema. Its owner was deeply involved in the design process and kept constantly in touch with the team the entire time.

The final look had to be classic but also unique. The numbers alone are impressive. Ipanema features more than a dozen types of marble and more than 20 fabric patterns. Every detail, including the porcelain switches, was carefully chosen or custom-made for this particular yacht.

The overall style is utterly grandiose, and might even be an eye-sore for some. It’s certainly very far from the Zen-like, peaceful atmosphere that most yacht lovers seem to be looking for. And we could say that it’s the opposite of futuristic models, even though its exterior is still modern enough. Walking through these heavily-adorned spaces, you’d either feel like an Italian nobleman or an alien that has landed in the wrong place.

But don’t let this unexpectedly-rich style throw you off. Ipanema’s amenities are just as inviting as those of any other contemporary yacht. It boasts five cabins (each with a different color scheme) for up to ten guests, cool water toys (including a large tender that matches the yacht’s color) and a surprisingly spacious beach club for this size category.

People will either love or hate Ipanema, but either way, its audacity deserves appreciation. This red beauty dared to be different among contemporary creations that are eerily similar. And it will continue to be one of the most admirable representatives in the “red luxury yacht” niche.