The super-sleek Sanlorenzo SP110 is making waves around the world with its triple waterjets, 40-knot top speed and 4ft draft.
Exterior designer Bernardo Zuccon says the knife-like profile of the SP110 was inspired by the great white shark. Sanlorenzo Art Director Pierro Lissoni says “one feels its architectural power” when inside the atrium-style interior. Tilli Antonelli, Product and Development Manager of Sanlorenzo’s SP line, describes the shipyard’s first Smart Performance model as an “elegant, powerful, absolutely unique yacht” and a “major driver of innovation”.
Certainly, Sanlorenzo’s quest for innovation shows no signs of slowing down with the SP110, its first open coupè and its fastest yacht to date.
In fact, the two-deck design is so far removed from the SL, SD and SX flybridge yacht ranges that it’s reaching a new sector of owners, including one who switched to an SP110 from a sailing boat. Sanlorenzo Asia, represented by Simpson Marine, secured a sale in this region soon after the model’s world premiere at the Cannes Yachting Festival.
Upon closer inspection, it’s a model that possesses plenty of the shipyard’s DNA along with plenty from Antonelli, an industry pioneer behind brands such as Pershing and Wider. His influence is evident in the choice of three MJP waterjets, which work with triple 2,000hp MAN V12 engines to produce a top speed of 40 knots or even 43 knots with the 2,200hp options.
They’re impressive figures for a superyacht and a credit to hull designer Marco Arnaboldi — another member of the SP110’s all-star design team — who optimised the 108ft-long, 27ft-beam planing hull for use with hydrojet propulsion.
Another key contributor to efficiency is the use of lightweight materials, with a fibreglass hull topped by a superstructure in carbon and epoxy. The hull design, waterjets and light materials all contribute to a super-shallow draft of just 1.3m at full load, so you can pretty much go wherever there’s water.
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“The waterjets give the yacht its very shallow draft, incredible comfort and flexibility in navigation, with full respect for the environment,” Antonelli says. “This is what characterises SP110 and its originality.”
Lean and Green
In an era with increasing focus on fuel emissions and a huge push for greener propulsion and operational systems, even Sanlorenzo Chairman Massimo Perotti admits that the high-speed SP110 may be a more niche offering than more voluminous models from the well-established SL, SD and SX series.
But that’s where the ‘Smart’ in Smart Performance comes in. Sure, the SP110 can seriously shift when it needs to, but Sanlorenzo says its performance is matched by impressive efficiency, the driving force behind the boat’s fractional propulsion system.
To improve efficiency at slower speeds, the yacht can use just one engine or only the two outer engines, which is each paired with a steering waterjet as opposed to the central thruster.
“Personally, I think the best performance in terms of economy is at 10 knots, with the two side engines running at about 800-900rpm and consumption at about 110-112 litres per hour,” Antonelli says.
Furthermore, the SP110 incorporates a solar-electric energy system to help power onboard systems. High-efficiency 6kW monocrystalline solar panels cover the forward half of the roof and work with a package of lithium batteries to potentially run hotel functions for a few hours each day without the use of generators.
On a summer day in Mediterranean waters, over 60kW a day can be produced, which can run hotel loads for 4hrs based on an average of 15kWh. However, the deckhouse roof offers more than just solar panels, also featuring a full-width sunbathing area and even a cleverly disguised helm station that can fold down flush into the black superstructure.
Outdoor Surprises
While Antonelli is focused on the Smart Performance line, the SP110’s exterior and interior designers, Bernardo Zuccon and Piero Lissoni, are common to many of Sanlorenzo’s other series and models. In fact, Zuccon admitted it was a “complex task” finding the balance between the SP110’s dynamic performance and the need for elegant, comfortable outdoor and indoor spaces.
“While respecting the stylistic features that historically characterise this type of boat, such as the aerodynamic and extremely organic surfaces, with Tilli Antonelli we arrived at a compromise: a dialogue between dynamism and liveability not normally perceived on boats of this size,” said Zuccon, whose parents Gianni and Paola founded Zuccon International Project.
Outdoor social areas include the foredeck, which includes a five-person sunbathing area and a further island sunpad forward, while all the technical equipment is neatly hidden in the forepeak under a foldup cover. Just below, the top section of the almost-vertical bow can lift forward to deploy the retractable anchor.
However, the main outdoor zone is the vast aft cockpit or terrace, an area whose increasing importance on Sanlorenzo models was highlighted by its significant size on the SX series and which has been replicated on smaller models by sister brand Bluegame.
On the SP110, the aft terrace is an almost square space measuring about 7m by 7m, so offering about 50sqm of space for outdoor furniture, water toys and whatever else an owner might wish to use it for. It also includes not one but two party tricks, starting with the 5m-wide aft transom folding out to become a waterside swim platform and reveal integrated steps leading down to it.
However, unveiling the hidden tender is even more fun to watch. Firstly, three thin, long panels — one on each side and one aft of the outdoor furniture — open to allow a three-sided davit to electronically rise to an almost vertical position, where it looks like the posts and crossbar of a football goal.
After that, a roughly 5m by 2m deck panel pivots up and forward to reveal the tender, which is hoisted in the air, moved aft and then lowered into the water by the moving davit.
Light and Bright
If the exterior makes it obvious that Sanlorenzo is entering a new sector with the SP110, the sliding aft doors show the shipyard is also not standing still with interior design.
Having already worked on the interior of the SX88, Piero Lissoni was appointed as the company’s in-house Art Director in 2018, the year of Sanlorenzo’s 60th anniversary. Since then, he has overseen many of the interior layouts of the builder’s models but the atrium-style design of the SP110 interior may be one of his finest works yet.
Whether you’re standing on the aft terrace, swim platform or even the dock, you have a clear view through to both the lower lounge and the main deck above.
Both decks are connected by what Lissoni describes as a “hyper-technological staircase” to starboard and both are far more relaxing, comfortable and welcoming than the minimalist exterior might suggest.
Antonelli is full of praise for the connectivity of the outdoor and indoor areas. “The SP110 is designed to be social,” he says. “When one guest is reading a magazine on the main deck, another is watching a movie in the lower lounge and others are sunbathing or playing on the aft deck, they can all communicate. They’re in separate areas, but they’re all connected.”
Inside, Lissoni themes include long sight lines, big windows, large openings and clear deck spaces that can be dressed by owners how they wish. Sanlorenzo prides itself on its customisation, which is illustrated by the interior of hull one, Almax, being notably different to the furniture layouts on the model’s original deck plans.
In essence, the main deck is designed to start with an open saloon, while forward is a dining area flanked by huge sliding doors on both sides for a pleasant cross breeze and beautiful sea views.
On Almax, a port side door leads to a day head and a large galley to starboard, while forward is a zen-like helm station, with a single, adjustable helm seat and a simple sofa and foldable table to starboard. To port is the staircase to the crew quarters, which has a captain’s cabin and two twins.
On the lower deck, the interior starts with a lower lounge in a design reminiscent of the larger Bluegame models. However, instead of three steps down from the aft platform, it’s five on the SP110, so there isn’t the visual connectivity to the aft deck you might hope for.
Like the main saloon, the lower lounge can be dressed and laid out to the owner’s taste. On Almax, this includes a bar and leather chair to starboard, and a carpeted side to port with sofas facing the mirrored wall, which features a cleverly disguised TV screen.
A central hallway leads first to identical VIP suites on each side, each with a forward-facing bed and en-suite bathroom, while forward to port is a flexible guest cabin, also with en-suite.
The master suite is on starboard side and features an inward-facing bed, with an elegant walk-in wardrobe aft and the en-suite forward.
Lissoni, for one, is confident of the success of the Smart Performance line. “The SP110 is the first of what will genuinely be a new generation of yachts.”
This article first appeared on Yacht Style.
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