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The Big Blue: BMW sets sail with Nautor’s Swan

The car brand and Finnish shipyard apply cutting-edge paint technology to a classic performance yacht

When it came to specifying his new racing yacht, the Swiss tenor August Schram knew exactly what he wanted. Having carefully charted the journey of the elegant ClubSwan 50 from plans to near finished product, Schram set his heart on a very particular shade of blue for the hull. Barcelona Grey Liquid is not a hue that can be bought off the shelf. The colour debuted on BMW’s Concept 8 Series, a striking two-seater coupé that was first shown to the world in the sophisticated surroundings of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in May 2017.

One of the world’s pre-eminent car design salons, the Concorso is a showcase for all iterations of automotive beauty, and the design team behind the Concept 8 Series saw the paint as an essential finishing touch. Highly iridescent pigments created a shimmering, rich surface, a deep finish that accentuates the concept car’s flowing lines and curved flanks.

It seemed like a perfect match for the ClubSwan 50. Designed and built at Finnish shipyard Nautor’s Swan, the ClubSwan 50 is a sailboat shaped for performance, capable of swift cruising with minimal crew but also eligible for racing. A pared-down, efficient deck, simple sail plan and minimal interior create a classic performance yacht, and Schram knew the unique paint would create a superlative finish. Although BMW’s designers usually keep their conceptual palettes to themselves, Schram’s enthusiasm was undaunted.

It helped too that Nautor’s Swan and BMW have an ongoing partnership through BMW Yachtsport and a one-off BMW M760Li created by the company’s ‘Individual’ division to evoke the materials and feel of Nautor’s Swan’s classic yachts. Ultimately, Schram prevailed, and the ClubSwan 50’s graceful profile was finished off with a hull of rich Barcelona Grey Liquid. Thanks to close collaboration with BMW’s design team, the yacht now shimmers, shifts and dances like the water it glides through, the perfect pairing of cutting-edge paint technology and traditional sailboat design.§

nautorswan.com; bmw-yachtsport.com
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