BENETTI M/Y “METIS” WINS AT WORLD SUPERYACHT AWARDS 2020

In the unprecedented setting of an online ceremony, held on November 13, Benetti’s mega yacht “Metis”won the prestigiousWorld Superyacht Award in the “Displacement yachts between 1,000 and 1,499 tonnes” category. Such success replicates that of the award that Benetti received at the 2019 event for M/Y Spectre, once again held by the highly reputed yachting magazine Boat International.

 The experienced yacht owners forming the World Superyacht Awards jury recognised in “Metis” the Italian elegance and excellent quality that are the core values of the Benetti brand.The judges particularly appreciated how Metis’ layout was designed to suit the needs of her owner, while extending the modern design trends, including interiors with such good visibility that they are at one with the surrounding seascapes. The beach club, opening directly to the sea through three huge shell doors, was another feature that caught their attention.

The success of Metis is furthermore impressive considering that the build was started on speculation by Benetti. The project’s team was challenged to design an extraordinary yacht that would need to interpret with no compromises the requirements of modern yachtsmen, both in functionality and style.

M/Y “Metis” is a distinctively contemporary 63-meter custom yachtwith impressive volumes clad in flowing lines and innovative details. The steel hull and aluminium superstructure offer six decks and a maximum beam of 11 meters. The touch-and-go helipad, the 160 square meters master apartment, with an exclusive outdoor terrace, and the extensive deck areas are just a few of the yacht’s outstanding features. The 20 sqm Fly Deck gym is the cherry-on-the-pie that Kurt Lehman, from Yacht Moments, is particularly proud of, since it was his idea, and is one of the features that truly impressed the judges. 

For the interiors, London-based firm Bannenberg & Rowell has introduced a new design approach that embraces an unusual layout, with the beach club, the main saloon on the Main Deck, and the lounge area on the Upper Deck turned 30 degrees compared to traditional configurations, revealing new perspectives from which to enjoy the view of the sea. The architecture developed by the English studio features the extensive use of bleached oak with leather inserts and materials including carbon fibre and polished stainless steel.  

Giovanna Vitelli, Azimut|Benetti Group vice president, commented: “I share this award with everyone who has been part of creating this project, which represents the excellence of Benetti’s production and construction capabilities, a statement of ‘Made in Italy’ best industrial and manufacturing capabilities. Proof of the excellent result is this prestigious award as well as the sale of four yachts based on Metis’ design that were sold to owners from four different continents”.

Dickie Bannenberg remarked on the collaboration with Benetti: “Perhaps Benetti simply appreciate that aesthetics and engineering are part of the same process, and not separate disciplines. To use a fashion analogy, the most beautiful cloth will still fail on a poorly tailored suit. I think the Italians just have this in their blood. They gave us pretty free rein when we laid out the yacht and by conceiving spaces in an asymmetric way we were able to create less formal layouts (while keeping an edgy modern style), improve sight lines, absorb bars and equipment in corners, and generally create a new dynamic to both furniture and architecture.”

Giorgio M. Cassetta, responsible for the exterior design and layout, commented on the style: “Our goal for Metis was to create a set of essential lines that would give the yacht a subtle sensuality and a recognizable character. She is unmistakably a Benetti yacht, with an added boldness and exquisite balance of proportions. Her refined volumes were precisely crafted to highlight three-dimensionality with precision surface contouring, while offering uncompromised lay-out functionality. In this she is a perfect expression of our company’s ethos, and we are grateful to the yard and the project’s team for a fantastic work together.”