LOA 71ft 2in (21.68m) BEAM 16ft 11in (5.15m) ENGINES Triple D13 800hp IPS1050 TOP SPEED 35 knots PRICE £2.75m ex VAT CONTACT www.azimutyachts.com
One of the joys of the Düsseldorf show is being able to compare rival boats from different O manufacturers under one roof. Stepping off the newly launched Princess S72 and onto the box fresh Azimut S7 was a fascinating insight into these two brands.
Whereas the British boat is all about understated elegance on a tried and trusted shaftdrive platform, the Azimut S7 flaunts its chic Italian influences at every opportunity. From its sweeping Alberto Mancini exterior to its designer Yachtique interior, it could barely be more different. Even the engineering takes a very different route, making extensive use of carbon fibre mouldings to keep the weight down and relying on three comparatively small 800hp Volvo IPS1050 pod drives to power it. Azimut claims this makes the S7 20-30 per cent more efficient than a comparable shaftdrive boat, which sounds plausible given that the S72 weighs almost 10 tonnes more and packs an extra 900hp.
To be fair, the S7 doesn’t feel quite as big as the S72 inside or out but what it lacks in volume it more than makes up for in style. We particularly liked the expansive aft cockpit which extends a long way forward on the main d
