Welcome to the special “20th Anniversary” section of Top Yacht Design. Here, day by day, we present the best stories, yachts, and personalities we’ve covered over the past 20 years of Top Yacht Design, from 2006 to today.
Taken from Top Yacht Design no. 5/2016, pp. 140/145
Mangusta GranSport 50: born to be free
Freedom and versatility set the new Mangusta GranSport 50.
It wasn’t the simplest idea in the world to try to retain Mangusta’s signature sporty DNA on a 50-metre. One that had to be high performance, comfortable, easy – on fuel and long on range all at once into the bargain. A challenge that amounted to squaring the nautical circle, in other words. And yet somehow, Alberto Mancini did it. In fact, the Mangusta GranSport 50 premiered at the last Monaco Show is the incarnation of the Overmarine Group’s new direction in the fast displacement segment. Fear not, however, it won’t be reneging on the magnificent opens for which it is justifiably renowned the world over. “This is a line of unique craft that combine speed, range, comfort and a sporty soul. They’re absolute thoroughbreds – elegant and fast – yet reassuring too,” said Francesco Frediani, the Group’s commercial director.
The first project is the Mangusta GranSport 50. “The concept from September is now a 5o-metre and has a four-engine power set-up with stabilisers,” he continues. “That means improved propulsion and fuel efficiency, a faster maximum speed of up to 3o knots and a shallower draft of around 2.5 m that so that it’s ideal for shallow waters. The hydrodynamics have been improved too as has the range making it a more versatile craft overall. Of course, it’s sumptuously comfortable on top of all that” Transforming a Mangusta into a fast displacement without detracting from its core nature was no easy task, however. “The greatest difficulty was designing the kind of lines and allure that would convince owners of the classic fibreglass models to transition to an all-aluminium fast displacement, and still retain the sporty character they love so much in their boats,” explains Alberto Mancini, who did the Mangusta GranSport 5o’s exterior and interior design.
Those lines and that profile borrowed rigor and continuity from the auto design world and lend the entire project a huge elegance particularly evident in details such as the helm station on the fly which is strongly reminiscent of some of the great iconic road-going coupés. Mancini has revolutionised the Mangusta family feeling without tearing it apart or betraying it. In fact, he’s adopted it perfectly to the new idea of comfort, refinement and performance that the GranSport personifies. “This line breaks us into a new segment in which the yachts have dynamic lines, are comfortable yet also deliver a long range and low fuel consumption. Sporty boats that brilliantly embody the Mediterranean lifestyle: open-air life, the joy of eating near the sea. Perfect for owners wanting performance even on longer passages,” concludes Frediani. Mancini is at his most masterful in the exterior styling in apart because he thinks owners need and up-close experience of the sea.
“A boat like this has a lot of competitors so we really had to imbue it with uniqueness, particularly on the exterior,” the Trieste designer says. “Hence the emphasis on the transom where the central port rotates to create beach club that completely surrounds the boat, and the pool that dominates the sun bridge with two integrated sun pads and a counter current mode. It even lets light into the owner’s suite through its transparent bottom” The first example is at the engineering stage and ready to begin building. Francesco Frediani is optimistic: “We think we can play a key role in this segment with a model like the Mangusta GranSport 50, not just because of our technical capabilities but also because of our 30 years’ experience of building fast, comfortable craft.”
by Giuliana Fratnik
