Broken Pattern

It really never stops.  Recent months have seen interesting developments to the long standing designer and builder relationship important brands usually present.  A trend which was born in the USA back in the sixties when production boat building started to form itself.  Do you remember Bertram with Ray Hunt and then from the seventies till mid nineties with Dave Napier, Hatteras with Jack Hargave, to continue on the old European continent this evolving into around the eighties into a style format; Mochi Craft with Poalo Caliari, Pershing with Fulvio de Simoni, Azimut from the nineties with Stefano Righini, Posillipo with Zuccon from 1978 till 1999, and Ferretti from 1990 with Zuccon, Fairline from mid eighties till 2012 and Princess with Bernard Olesinski, and Sunseeker with Don Shead who retired some years ago but apparently still does some consulting work for them.  

So it was a very interesting news when Ferretti showcased the project for the upcoming 670 model who is designed by Filippo Salvetti.  Ferretti yachts has been designed by Giovanni Zuccon since 1990 with his first project called at the time the 50, which evolved and launched into the 54 model in 1992 and then became the 175 Fly.  After that Zuccon designed all Ferretti models, and became exclusive for the brand and Group from 1999 onward and also designed the larger Ferretti Custom Line, Mochi, Aprea Maestro series, Bertram, and also some of the CRN models.  It was a solid relationship which lasted 27 years and created a path for Ferretti.  To be fair the writing for this separation might have been on the wall when the new Ferretti Custom Line 120 launched in the end of 2017 designed by Paszkowski rather then Zuccon.  A question I did ask when writing the project article for that model back in December 2016.

At this stage it will be interesting if Ferretti will be more adventurous with its designers from now on, taking a more open approach or if the Filippo Salvetti relationship will be a long one mirroring that of Zuccon. Personally for a brand like Ferretti identity plays an important role, reflecting certain design continuity is a must not a choice.  Ferretti has always been labelled as the different flybridge motor yacht thanks to its low sporty profile, practical and some genius details in its design, yet in all this managing to look that conservative and classy.

I am really waiting for the upcoming Ferretti projects after the 670 to see what happens next.