Eco-friendly sustainability and sporty performance usually don’t come in the same package. However, in a boating community increasingly attentive to the environment, it’s important to find a way to offer the thrill of performance with reduced environmental impact.

To fulfil this need, Azimut has been developing a new generation of ‘eco-sport’ boats, sometimes revamping previous models, sometimes creating new ones. The Italian builder’s restyled S7 not only offers lower fuel consumption but also offers improved onboard lifestyle features due to an exciting new design collaboration.

The previous S7, designed by Stefano Righini, made its debut in 2018, five years before Azimut released the current version by Alberto Mancini, the Italian designer who in recent years has been refreshing Azimut’s Grande, Fly and S series, where the ‘S’ stands for Sport.

Based in Monte Carlo, Mancini is young, lithe and smooth as silk, all adjectives that can apply to his design for the S7, with its elegant long lines and attractively refreshed exterior.

Interior design is by Yachtique, the in-house company previously tasked with creating some of the Azimut-Benetti Group’s superyacht interiors, so it’s not surprising to see the studio bring a touch of extra lux to the S7.

Open To The Elements

The S7 is made for easy connection with the sea, starting from the aft swim platform, which has a hydraulically operated up/down central section that lowers to the water to launch the tender and jet-ski stored in the garage. The top ‘overhang’ of the garage door serves as a base for the cockpit’s aft sunpad, an excellent spot for relaxing while keeping an eye on what’s going on in the water.

As well as the open sunpad area, the cockpit has a living/dining area with an L-shaped couch covered by the flybridge overhang. This zone gets extra protection from fashion plates that shelter without enclosing due to large glass panels inserted into them. A bar cabinet by the stairs to the flybridge can be fitted with a sink and icemaker or a mini fridge.

The large, well-designed foredeck is easy to access and on the same deck level as the aft cockpit. A large C-shaped sofa faces an adjustable table and a convertible aft-facing couch that flattens to become part of the sunpad, meaning the area can be used for sunbathing, dining or enjoying the sunset.

Even though Mancini’s new version has a much larger flybridge compared to the Righini version, the S7 still falls somewhere between a hard top cruiser and a proper flybridge boat. To keep the exterior lines low and spare, a look that befits the S7’s sporty calling and suits Mancini’s taste, a fold-down bimini is the only option for covering the upper deck.

“As a designer, I feel I should bring owners into a seafaring world where a yacht’s lines are beautiful in of themselves. I’m not going to design just thinking about comfort; I will always think about beauty,” Mancini says.

“I like to think of owners arriving aboard with a group of friends and stepping into an ambience that takes them far away from their everyday lives. It’s also important not to forget we’re at sea and must respect it.”

The fly includes a carbon-fibre dining table with L-shaped banquette seating to port and aft, facing a wet bar cabinet with a grill and fridge to starboard, aft of the twin-seat helm station.

The double sunpad by the helm has aft headrests that convert to become backrests for seating around the dining table, a small feature that says much about the careful thought and planning that went in to getting the most out of every inch aboard.

Yachtique Elevates Interiors

Sports and the outdoors go hand in hand and as a sports boat, even the S7’s interiors keep an eye on outdoor life. Designed for easy flow and continuous connection between spaces, the saloon looks like a natural continuation of the aft cockpit.

Upholstery colours and cushion shapes are similar, so indoor and outdoor areas recall each other, while large, single-pane windows offer vast, uninterrupted views.

Yachtique’s experience in designing for the seafaring life can be seen in furnishings like the saloon tables that adjust both in height and in configuration to transform from being two separate coffee tables to one dining table large enough for eight.

The whole furnishing scheme revolves tastefully around a colour palette limited to white, grey, walnut brown, black and tobacco. Luxurious touches include wooden slats in the ceiling treatment and leather tray tops on built-in storage pieces.

The saloon’s TV screen is concealed in an up/down storage unit and LED light strips in the ceiling provide ambient lighting and include spotlights that can be used to highlight certain areas.

Fore is the helm station to starboard, with the galley to port. While it may seem incongruous to position the galley right next to the helm, preparing a meal in the spot with the best view on board is a treat.

Also, cooking is frequently done when the boat is at anchor, so captain and chef can co-exist happily – even if it’s the same person changing hats. The technology in both areas is top quality: Garmin for the helm touchscreens, and Miele for the kitchen appliances.

Comfort Zone

Between the helm and the galley is the staircase leading to the lower-deck guest accommodation. A washing machine and dryer are concealed behind the panelling in the hallway that leads to the full-beam owner’s cabin midships.

The double bed is placed beam-wise on the port side under a hull window: the water seems close enough to touch. There’s a sofa to starboard with an up/down TV screen behind it, a vanity/desk and the same stylish leather trays seen in the saloon.

Storage solutions include a chic, glassed-in cabinet and a large walk-in closet. The bathroom has a black-and-tan colour scheme with luxurious details like a bowl sink and a rain shower.

The en-suite VIP cabin fully fore has curved walls to follow the hull shape, while there are two twin cabins, one with forward-facing beds to port and a starboard version with criss-crossing bunks. A crew cabin that can sleep two has separate access from the side deck passage.

Tech Generation

While the interiors are lovely, a lot of what’s new about the Azimut S7 doesn’t meet the eye. The boat is part of the shipyard’s Carbon Tech Generation programme, with lightweight carbon-fibre used extensively, especially in the superstructure.

Due to the subsequent weight savings, the S7 has a low centre of gravity which helps to reduce roll. Less weight equals less roll and more comfort, plus it means the boat is more responsive to helm commands and more fun on the water.

Below the waterline, the S7’s hull shape was optimised for the yacht’s propulsion system: three 800hp Volvo Penta IPS D13 pods. IPS is well known for its fuel efficiency and reduced noise and vibrations, but its benefits don’t stop with performance.

The pods can be mounted further aft than conventional shaft-drive propulsion systems, creating greater volume for areas like the crew cabin and a garage large enough to fit both a Pirelli J33 tender and a jet-ski.

All the S7’s systems can be run and monitored using Garmin touchscreen technology, while the Volvo Penta joystick controls make manoeuvring easy and intuitive. Azimut reports a top speed of 35 knots and a range of 300nm at efficient cruising speed, numbers that will please both the speed freak and the eco warrior.

Only five years have passed between the first S7 and its updated version, but considering the urgency of climate issues today, the shipyard has done well to invest in an already efficient model. With its enhanced fly area and elegant, contemporary interiors, the new Azimut S7 improves on an already good boat and shows that eco-friendly can coexist with sporty performance and Italian style.

www.azimutyachts.com
www.marineitalia.asia

This article was first published on yachtsyle.co.

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