The wallywhy200 has been called everything under the sun: a spacecraft, a waterfront loft, futuristic, hulking, angular. But it is actually the physical embodiment of Luca Bassani’s personal concept of seafaring as he explained during a sea trial at the last year Cannes show: «I like spending time at sea on fast, comfortable boats that you can live well aboard”. (Here all our posts about Wally)
Bassani has never been shy about the fact that he is very much a function over form proponent. This is the very raison d’etre of the wallywhy200: to guarantee its owner a sublime seafaring experience through the absolute maximum possible space achievable on a 27-metre craft. Albeit a completely curve-free one. But Bassani has never liked curves: “I just drew a simple straight line to design to the wallywhy,” he explains. “And then I elaborated on that to create a yacht that guarantees space and comfort but without weighing down the navigation process. In fact, it makes it flow”.
Seen from inside, the wallywhy200 feels enormous. Much, much larger than any other 27-metre out there. That has quite a lot to do with its 7.66m beam which would be the envy of a cat of similar dimensions.
And also the astonishing windows that enclose the superstructure and part of the hull itself. Even when the 27m is going full throttle, the silence is incredible as its four 1,000 hp Volvo D13 IPS units were designed to allow semi-displacement hulls keep a horizontal trim. In addition to this, because they are a fitted further aft than a conventional shaft transmission, they also open up more space below decks.
“With a waterline length of 23.98m, this boat can be registered as a leisure craft with all the advantages that brings. The wallywhy200 is the first model in the new range and was designed by Luca Bassani and his design team with the Ferretti Group Engineering Department. Laurent Giles did the naval architecture while Studio Vallicelli crafted the interiors. The result is a striking yacht. With a built-in wow factor like every self-respecting Wally,” explained Stefano de Vivo.
It is also the first full-wide-body yacht. This means no external side walkways because all the available space is given over the huge open plan living area that extends across a record 100 sqm to which a further 22 can be added from the upper deck. Another hugely impactful element is the imposing 4.7m glazed bow which houses the 37 sqm master suite.
The striking upper deck has a glass and carbon dome and lots of al fresco space thanks to an extended top that also shelters the main deck and offers an expansive sunning area. The first example of the wallywhy200 also has three further cabins on its lower deck. Its three decks are connected by a spectacular weight-bearing carbon-fibre staircase and its furnishings are a triumph of open pore teak, as befits a craft with this lineage.
During the sea trial, Luca Bassani and Wally Managing Director Stefano de Vivo also officially presented the wallywhy200. «It has all the advantages of a cat without its limitations,” explained Vivo. “It is the product of Wally’s ingenious vision, the Ferretti Group’s 20 years-plus of developing hulls in-house and, of course, the Laurent Giles studio’s input”.
Bassani was quick to agree: “Like all the Wallys, the wallywhy200 has the wow-factor hewn into its DNA!” he said. “It expresses its innovating power through unprecedented architectural elements that break with the past and typical motoryacht clichés. The Ferretti Group made it possible to turn a concept very close to my heart into reality by believing in a bold design that will improve owners’ onboard experience and also marks a turning point for the motoryacht market”.
