This Hybrid Megayacht Turns Into a Submarine for Complete Privacy

Here is a concept for what will probably become the world’s first megayacht that can turn into a submarine. Called Carapace, the 78-meter ultra-luxurious vessel can travel both on the surface on the sea and underneath it, with the possibility of staying submerged for up to 10 days in a row.

This way, Carapace would be ideal for business meetings where complete privacy and secrecy are paramount, Nappi tells CNN. However, being so luxurious, it would also do well as any respectable billionaire’s new toy or for cruises, or even for research, with the possibilities for its use depending strictly on the budget of whoever wants to rent or buy it.

It’s the stuff dreams and James Bond movies are made of: an ultra-luxurious vessel that sails the seas at high speeds and then goes under in the blink of an eye, whenever the captain desires it.

Carapace would come to hail in a new class of megayacht, one in which the luxury of one such vessel meets the privacy inherent in a submarine. And luxurious it will be: Nappi imagined it fitted with anything a modern (wo)man might want in terms of amenities, from a gym and spa, a bar and health club, an infinity pool, to a spacious sundeck and large lounge and dining rooms. Spaces for those with limited mobility are also being considered.

Perhaps best of all, guests would be able to enjoy these while basking in the sun or taking in the superb vistas underwater. Carapace would go as deep under as 300 meters, where it could sail for about 10 days before needing to come out again.

“The world of luxury submarines is one of the last frontiers in the field of experimentation, and perhaps the hybrid will be the language of the future,” Nappi says. “Very often yacht owners are looking for original solutions to be able to offer their friends and their family something special, and certainly that of a diving cruise of this type is something unprecedented in the super yacht market.”

Carapace will use a hybrid system of propulsion, powered by a diesel-electric and fuell cell system. Built with light aluminum, it will be fast and steady, with a smaller impact on the environment due to the hybrid propulsion. On the surface, it would cruise at a maximum speed of 16 knots, which would be lowered to 13 knots at cruising speed underwater, and a total range of 2,400 miles.

Guests would be accommodated in VIP suites and regular cabins, spread across the 3 decks. Nappi doesn’t say how many of them would fit, or how large a staff would be needed to man it. She does, however, stress that the vessel is just in concept stage and that it might take a while before it sees the light of day – or the darkness underwater.

“If we make a comparison with the automotive sector, it is not hard to understand that the road to this type of boat is still very far away,” Nappi explains in the same CNN interview. “The first electric car was built in 1884 and is only on the market today, so it is impossible to think that a harness like this could be put on the market before 100 years.”

Though Nappi is working as designer with shipyard Fincantier, Fincantier is not involved in the Carapace concept. Strangely, despite Nappi’s comment on how long it might take take the concept into the next stage of development, Luxury Launches reports that Nappi is eyeing a 2021 delivery date for the vessel, which would mean that a shipyard is already working on it.

This contradiction aside, the gallery attached includes several renders of the megayacht-submarine. They should be enough to give you an idea of what to expect, until something more concrete comes along.