on 10 Mar 2023
Southhampton's Lateral Naval Architects has teamed up with iconic London-based studio of Bannenberg & Rowell to develop a new 48m design proposition called Spitfire.
With offices on the site of the former J-Class builder Camper & Nicholson, and a stones throw across the River Itchen from the site of the former Supermarine factory where the WW2 Spitfire was first developed, the team at Lateral were inspired to draw on the rich heritage inherent in their surroundings.
Laterals relatively young age belies its own extensive heritage, which is rooted in an impressive portfolio of highly specialised commercial and paramilitary vessels spanning a 37 year history. Parent company BMT has designed and engineered some of the world’s most advanced marine vehicles.
Spitfire is built upon the same foundations that produced the 2018 award-winning Ares / BMT 150 BOLD Class, a 48-meter high-speed offshore patrol vessel series designed by BMT and built by Ares shipyard of Antalya, Turkey. Leveraging this established design equips Spitfire with a technical backbone that has already undergone vigorous testing, providing a proven platform.
“Marrying a hull possessing offshore pedigree with the requirements of a superyacht platform creates exciting opportunities; both from a design and technical perspective,” says Matteo Maghernini, head of business development at Lateral. “This requires an evolved hullform, to meet the demands of a pleasure craft.”
The team at Lateral has married a further evolution of the proven hull form with a hybrid electric architecture, enabling silent operation both at anchor and whilst underway, equipped with a top speed in excess of 23 knots.
Exterior and Interior design has been masterfully curated by the studio of Bannenberg & Rowell Design. Spitfire, with her 8.6-metre bean and gross tonnage of 499t, is a fully developed design, tailored for informal and flexible living. Lean and nimble, purposeful and distinctive, she is a seagoing reinterpretation of her celebrated airborne ancestor. She will offer owners a cruising speed of 20.7 knots and a top speed of 23.5 knots, with a range of 3,000NM.
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