A significant new superyacht has emerged from the Adriatic city of Ancona, where CRN, part of the Ferretti Group, launched its latest full-custom steel and aluminium displacement motor yacht on 4 June. Project Thunderball made her maiden appearance on the water before the owner and their family, marking a milestone in what has been a substantial collaborative undertaking.
Three design practices divided responsibilities across the project. Dutch studio Vripack led the exterior design, preliminary naval architecture, and general arrangement, while Italian firm Nauta took on the interiors and all outdoor living spaces. CRN brought its own naval architecture and engineering expertise to the build, with Y.CO acting as the owner's representative and project manager throughout the construction programme.
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The vessel measures 70 metres LOA with an 11-metre beam and 1,100 gross tons. Guest accommodation spans an owner's suite and five VIP cabins, providing berths for 12, while a crew of 15 is housed across nine dedicated cabins distributed over four decks.
Rather than drawing on conventional motor yacht precedent, the hull takes its cues from sailing tradition. An elongated bow, a slender profile, and gently curving bilges work together to produce a clean, uninterrupted hull surface. Vripack carried that same design thinking through to the broader arrangement, and Nauta translated the exterior proportions and geometry into the interior spaces, reinterpreting the visual language across different materials and scales.
On the technical side, Project Thunderball incorporates an Energy Storage System engineered to manage onboard power flows. The system enables peak shaving and silent operation while at anchor, and delivers a meaningful reduction in fuel consumption compared with conventional power arrangements.
Project Thunderball is currently progressing through outfitting, with sea trials and final testing to follow before a planned handover to her owner in summer 2026.
Interior photography has been requested from the CRN team, though those images are not yet available and are expected to follow later in the year. If the finished interior delivers on the exterior's considerable promise, Project Thunderball will be well worth revisiting when they arrive.
