Heesen Yachts Launches Racing-Inspired Aurelia

Yachting and car racing are no strangers to one another. The Monaco Grand Prix and Daytona 500 attract scores of yachts and superyachts, after all. Yas Marina in Dubai hopes to have the same success with Formula 1 racing. Several racing-team owners and even drivers own yachts, too. Add one more racing enthusiast to the list. He just christened the racing-inspired Aurelia, his new 37.3-meter (122-footer) from Heesen Yachts. Her name honors the first Lancia Aurelia GT. (Auto aficionados consider the car, from the 1950s, among the best GTs ever made.) The yacht’s name: Aurelia, of course.

If there’s any doubt as to how passionate this owner is about cars, take a good look at the exterior paint job, echoing Gulf Racing’s colors. While the large “10” aft also looks racing-inspired, it’s actually the hull number, referring to Aurelia being the 10th in Heesen’s 3700 series. Dobroserdov Design, which was responsible for the paint job, even carried it over to the yacht’s Castoldi tender.

Then consider the names of the three guest staterooms. There’s Bertone, Pininfarina, and Zagato. Auto aficionados among you no doubt recognize these names as being the designers behind some equally famous cars. Since Bertone designed Lamborghinis, the Bertone stateroom pays tribute to him, along with orange tones. The Pininfarina room takes its cues from red Ferraris. And the Zagato room brings to mind green Aston Martins. The owner worked closely with Bannenberg & Rowell to achieve the desired effects.

The guest staterooms are further noteworthy, as they’re fewer than usual for the Heesen 37-meter series. Most owners want four cabins, but Aurelia’s owner desired more room for his crew. Therefore, the fourth guest stateroom is the captain’s cabin, and there’s extra space devoted to the laundry.

Aurelia stands apart for more reasons, too. There’s a bioethanol-fueled fireplace in the saloon. It’s additionally styled by Bannenberg & Rowell, “inspired by the Dunhill cigarette lighter aesthetic,” according to Simon Rowell. The saloon is situated forward of the dining area, too, so that the owner and guests seated around the circular dining table can enjoy the view out the aft windows and sliding glass doors.

Aurelia, which should top out at 30 knots with MTU power, will debut at the Cannes boat show.