With the German auto tuning business Brabus having moved into the design of motorbikes and motorboats – not to mention clothing and a forthcoming residential development in Abu Dhabi – it was perhaps inevitable that it would eventually launch its first yacht.
Brabus’ CEO and owner Constantin Buschmann argues that the brand is now more broadly one of luxury design, with an enthusiastic fan base that will follow it into new markets. ‘The rationale here is to take them on another journey [into yachts],’ he says. ‘But really, we just love to design cool shit, so why stick with one category only?’
Brabus AB95 Yacht
Brabus AB95 Yacht
‘Really, we just love to design cool shit, so why stick with one category only?’
Brabus’ CEO and owner Constantin Buschmann
Partnering with the Next Yacht Group’s AB Yachts – known for its use of aerospace-derived construction methods to optimise hull shape and trim control systems – Brabus’s new three-yacht range includes models – the AB95 and AB110 – of roughly 95 and 110ft, with the largest, at 150ft, in the pipeline for launch next year. All three models have composite hulls, a top speed of 48 knots via steerable water-jet propulsion and space for 14 guests and crew.
But it is, of course, the signature Brabus look of these notably sleek and low-profile yachts that is set to draw the attention. Details include an illuminated Brabus roof spoiler, LED roof lights, exposed carbon fibre front wings and the same for engine air outlet surrounds.
Indeed, there is a lot of carbon fibre – a signature detail of Brabus’ automotive designs – with it even being used for two tables on the sun deck. Exterior upholstery features the brand’s triangular quilting, also for the driver’s seat, with even the helm Brabus-branded and bespoke-made to the owner’s specifications.
The helm of the Brabus AB110 Yacht
‘The ultimate reaction of the customer to one of our products has to be visceral first – you see it, fall in love with and want to have it, all in one second,’ explains Buschmann. ‘Almost every company in Germany is steeped in an engineering culture. But luxury products – and yachts are certainly those – work because making sense of their appeal is cultural, which is not as engineers often see it. They have to have an attitude and reflect an attitude: in this case, perhaps one of having been there, done that and bought the T-shirt, and probably 25 years ago.’
‘A Brabus yacht is something like a Batmobile for the water’
Constantin Buschmann
Buschmann says the yachts reflect a design ethos he calls ‘dark luxury’ – a reflection of the Brabus brand’s fondness for black (‘which doesn’t mean everything has to be all black, even if that is the best colour in the world,’ he notes), but also its historic emphasis on high-performance vehicles. ‘It’s a certain vibe that suggests power, in all senses of the word but especially in presence,’ Buschmann adds. ‘A Brabus yacht has to look like it means business. It’s serious, something like a Batmobile for the water’.
Buschmann adds that, much as previous projects have been in partnership with experts in their respective fields, working with AB has allowed Brabus to access a new market both faster at a lower cost, but also to quickly test reactions to its new designs, ‘all of which would cost millions if we did this ourselves,’ he says. ‘But right now one opportunity now seems to inspire three new ones, which is a nice situation to be in [despite the current] state of the German car business.’
Brabus AB150 Yacht