1 BMW’S GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR
It sounds like something out of a Roald Dahl novella but this bizarre foiling creation is no fiction, it’s a genuine attempt to rethink how a boat should look and function.
Called The Icon, it’s a 43ft electric foiling craft that BMW has helped design for new electric boat start-up Tyde. It’s powered by six lithiumion batteries adapted from BMW’s i3 hatchback linked to a pair of Torqeedo 100kW (135hp) electric motors. These are controlled using an aircraft-style wheel and throttles linked to a sophisticated computer that adjusts the foils to keep it flying above the waves. Much like today’s electric cars, instrumentation is minimal, with just one large display screen providing all the information and switchgear required.
Weighing around 10 tonnes light, the boat is capable of 30 knots flat out but is designed to cruise at 24 knots for a range of 50nm. It uses a flattened cathedral hull to maintain stability at rest and enable it to climb onto its foils as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Its unusual styling is said to have come about by rethinking what passengers want from a boat, namely to be as comfortable as possible while enjoying the best views out. The result is a heavily glazed origami-inspired superstructure with very generous headroom throughout and swivelling armchairs and sofas for a more convivial seating arrangement. You wouldn’t want to be aboard for too long, however. There is no heads or galley, let
