The first Granturismo of the seas, the luxury motor yacht being developed by Silver Arrows Marine in partnership with Mercedes-Benz Style, has earned a special place in Italy’s revered automotive coachbuilding industry. The Silver Arrows Marine (SAM) Granturismo Concept 14m yacht has become the first boat to be used as a subject for trainee model-makers at CEMI, the European Centre of Industrial Modelling. “From the perfect motor yacht these highly skilled young people have made the perfect model,” said SAM Communications Director Paolo Bonaveri. “We have loved working with CEMI because it reinforces the links between luxury car and boat that are at the heart of the SAM project.”
In the past students at CEMI have perfected their skills with projects that have included cars, motorcycles – and even an Egyptian chariot. But they have never tackled a boat before, let alone an innovative luxury motor yacht whose sleek design was penned by Mercedes-Benz Style. “This project was a unique experience for the students,” said CEMI coordinator Costanzo Rinaudo. “It is important that they have experience of jobs outside the automotive world. Such collaborations have a great bearing on the craft and technology of model-making.
“Projects like this also allow students to interact directly with style centres and prototyping companies, such as Stola Engineering and GR Painting of Turin. We are greatly in debt to both companies for their invaluable support and all the practical experience they offered the students. It will be a big help for them as they start to find work in the industry.” CEMI (cemi@agenform.it) was set up in 1998 in Savigliano, south of Turin in the heart of the Italian coachbuilding area. With backers such as Italian automotive design legend Giorgetto Giugiaro, CEMI’s mission was to train unemployed young people into a new generation of model-makers to meet increasing demand from coachbuilding firms and design centres.
As the only school of its kind in the world, these days CEMI attracts students from across the globe, including one from Korea who was part of the team involved in making the one-tenth scale model of the SAM Granturismo Concept. Today the centre collaborates with companies that include Ferrari, Italdesign, Mercedes-Benz, Ducati, Pininfarina and Bertone. The highly-skilled work relies on precision and dexterity with materials such as resin, clay and plaster to render the designer’s work as accurately as possible in 3D form. “Model-making is an essential stage in taking any industrial product from prototype to production – and that applies to boats just as much as cars,” said Silver Arrows Marine Engineering Director and former-Formula One technical director Giorgio Stirano.
“I have been involved with the Italian design and coachbuilding sector for many years and know how important this work is. It is very pleasing to see these young people have the skills and the passion to ensure this craft thrives in the future.” The Silver Arrows Marine Granturismo Concept has automotive DNA running through it. The design, interior, materials, colours and details are all redolent of the “modern luxury” quality of Mercedes-Benz cars. Innovative features include a welcoming open-plan main saloon with unprecedented space and light for the 14m class, and a spacious rear deck with a novel new seating arrangement.
“We are excited because we know our boat is unique,” added Paolo Bonaveri. “Mercedes-Benz Style designers are delivering not just a fusion between the automotive and marine sectors but a premium lifestyle product the like of which has never been seen before.”
