Azimut, the cult models of the world’s largest yacht manufacturer

A tribute to the companies and people who have made Barche a Motore great over these 35 years allowing it to be born, grow, and become great up to this historic anniversary. In these articles the great excellences of boating tell their stories and reveal their projects, making an important contribution to the knowledge of this world, which allows us all to go to sea, in all forms and contexts.

The world’s largest manufacturer of superyachts

Let’s start at the end, let’s start with a simple number, number one. One can only begin by saying that the Azimut Benetti Group, of which Azimut Yachts is a part, is to date firmly the world’s leading producer of superyachts.

A leadership gained 25 years ago, and never abandoned. Instead, 1969 is the number, the date of birth, of the brand created by Paolo Vitelli (who passed away just earlier this year) that started as a simple importer of boats. In these 56 years of life, the transformation that led it to become a group with a total production value of more than 1.3 billion euros and 2,500 employees took place under the banner of one watchword above all: innovation.

From wood to “plastic”

But let us proceed slowly and see what models and moments have marked Azimut‘s history. In the early 1970s the boating world is still experiencing the last stages of the transition from the era of wooden construction to that of fiberglass, and Azimut immediately launches two landmark models: first of all comes AZ 43 Bali. Launched in 1975, it is a design by Bernard Olesinsky, one of the great masters in hull design, and after the production of the first examples in Holland by Amerglass the realization will later be transferred to Italy. Shortly thereafter, in 1977, it was instead the time of the smaller AZ 32, designed by John Bennet. Just under ten meters long and with two Aifos of 180 hp each, it was born with the idea of bringing as many boaters as possible closer to the sea and to cruising by boat. Among its innovations were a sunroof and a raised pilot’s station.

Azimut. The acquisition of Benetti and the first superyachts

Early 1980s: Azimut stands out because it is the first shipyard to launch a superyacht over 30 meters long in fiberglass. It is theAZ 105, the first unit is called the Failaka, and it is also a design by two sacred monsters of yacht design history, Terence Disdale and Ugo F. Costaguta. Falaika, powered by two 1969-hp MTUs could exceed a top speed of 30 knots. Among the famous names of that era who also owned an AZ 100 were Onassis and Rockefeller. Also in the 1980s came another milestone in Azimut’s history: the acquisition of Benetti, an Italian brand born back in 1873. This will be for the first step to encroach into the world of mega and gigayachts. In 2019 Benetti gets to launch as many as three models over 100 meters in just 90 days.

Azimut. Research and design

Azimut ‘s investments in those years, however, go not only toward larger and larger hull sizes, but also in the direction of research and design. Here the goal is on the one hand to make production more and more efficient and modern (on the automotive model) and on the other hand to “invent” solutions that go to meet the demands of shipowners. Precisely with this purpose in mind, Azimut is the first to carry out an in-depth study to address in a new way the realization of windows on board. The goal is to arrive at what is now one of the “musts” of modern boats: eliminating the distinction between the inside and outside of boats. In 1991 came the first uninterrupted glazing bonded directly onto fiberglass. At the end of the same decade, on the other hand, the first large windows with curved glass and without mullions arrive on Azimut boats. This will lead to the organic, soft, curvilinear design under the names Stefano Righini and Carlo Galeazzi that will dominate all the first years of the new millennium. A symbol of that era is surely theAzimut 68S, launched at the 1991 Genoa Boat Show.

It is also signed Righini/Galeazzi. Shown to the world in an aggressive amaranth red color and by the unmistakable fin windows on the superstructure and the six squares on the bulwarks he was able to convey the idea of power and speed, but also of absolute luxury. In the engine room were two 1150-hp MTUs, V-Drive transmission and 35 knots of top speed. In more recent years the history of innovation in the boating world is marked by many other new Azimut“inventions.” Among these certainly deserve a place of honor the launch of the Magellan range (the first was the 76 in 2009) with their semi-planing hulls in the name of boating pleasure; the targeted and intelligent use of carbon for series production to reduce fuel consumption and increase comfort on board (and here the reference model is the Fly 72 of 2015); then in 2021 comes the model Great Trideck, with the spectacular solution of the “three bridges plus one,” and finally, in these last seasons, great protagonists are the new Seadeck with their “gentle” approach to sailing, perfectly attuned to the new generation of shipowners.

Visit the website of Azimut Yachts