Azimut 68 Flybridge

The Azimut 68 is the newest model to join their flybridge collection, offering a choice of three interior layouts, and catered for a wide range of lifestyles. The combination of carbon fiber and innovative hull design puts the 68 at the forefront of the shipyards technology programmes. The 68 had its world premiere at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2021 to a much anticipated crowd. Designed in collaboration with Alberto Mancini for the exteriors and Achille Salvagni for the interiors, Azimut gives owners increasingly bespoke solutions for such sports yachts, typically aquanted with much larger yachts. The WSB team take a closer look at this new arrival from Azimut.

The first 68 layout has an elegant lounge at the entrance to the Main Deck, with a galley off to one side, closed off by a solution that combines ribbing and plexiglass. This “Lanterna” configuration gives the galley privacy but allows light to flow throughout the space, creating a large and light-filled ambience.

For owners seeking a more convivial layout, the version with an open-style galley is ideal. Eliminating the sliding door opens up the view astern, as the galley connects directly to the dining area which, as in the Lanterna layout, can also be turned into a second lounge area.

In the configuration with the most informal layout, the galley is in the stern to facilitate direct flow between interior and exterior, while the living area is set apart towards the bow. The option with the galley near the entrance is perfect for serving both exterior and interior dining areas, encouraging conviviality.

Whatever the configuration chosen, there will always be an additional lounge setting over and above the conventional sofa area: a multi-purpose area in the middle of the Main Deck that can serve as a space for lunch, for conversation or reading, or even a small screening room.

Another priority focus is sustainability, which for Azimut doesn’t only mean concentrating on alternative propulsion systems – already being explored with the main international manufacturers – but has always involved concrete solutions delivering a significant reduction in the environmental impact of its boats. The Azimut 68 is characterised by extensive use of carbon fiber in the yacht’s topside, including the superstructure, the hard top and part of the deck, aiming to cut consumption levels despite the yacht’s generous volumes. The same goal was key to the design of the hull, whose forms have been optimised to achieve better performance and maximum cruising pleasure.

Exterior designer Alberto Mancini works surfaces using a modern language – also adopted in car design – to guide the evolution of the Flybridge collection and point up the distinctive features of Azimut Yachts with ever sharper cleanness of line, a concept already introduced in the Azimut 78. The interior spaces, as well as the external furnishings, were designed by Achille Salvagni and are characterised by grace and elegance conveying sensations of onboard wellbeing.

The interiors were designed to produce maximum stylistic harmony, in which every single detail – from the ambience as a whole down to the smallest furnishing accessories – is contrived by the same hand to arrive at an absolute project in the truest sense of the term.

Achille Salvagni, designer of the interiors, brings to the new 68 some of the defining features of his most important projects, such as smooth, curving lines, generous spaces embodying a concept of informal and unostentatious conviviality and, lastly, an extraordinary cleanness of line.

Among the fundamental concepts of this ambitious and original project are several important points that clearly distinguish the spaces on this boat from those on other similarly sized yachts. The first of these, which Salvagni himself calls Lanterna, is the solution adopted in the first of the three layouts to give the galley a feeling of privacy while allowing light to flow freely, significantly increasing the perception of space.

This important and innovative design solution makes it possible to close off an area without making it feel at all cramped: vertical ribbing and plexiglass are used to separate two spaces physically yet almost intangibly, because of their low visual impact. To be able to close off the galley while keeping it an integral part of the space is an astonishing feat on a 68 foot yacht.

Another fundamental concept in the interior design of the new Azimut 68 is undoubtedly the transformability and multifunctionality of the spaces. This is particularly clear in the day area on the Main Deck, laid out on two levels.

Thanks to two coffee tables that can be lowered and the possibility of installing a second TV in the wall, this zone can be turned into two different and independent areas. In this way, part of the day zone can be used, for example, as a cosy film screening or video game room with luxurious seating, multiplying the potential uses of this space and also making it more private.

An important feature of the interiors is the spaciousness of the night area, configured to offer four cabins and three bathrooms of decidedly generous dimensions (high ceilings, roomy wardrobes and long beds). The fourth cabin even has L-shaped beds and capacious wardrobes, significantly increasing the level of comfort.

The stand-out feature in the 68’s interiors, lastly, is the refined owner’s suite, characterised by a natural and unaffected sense of luxury and an atmosphere of wellbeing that is close to the modern concept of wellness. The part of the bathroom with the sink is open-style in fact, in direct communication with the suite and reminiscent of the serenely relaxed atmosphere of a refined modern spa.

This dialogue between part of the bathroom area (with sliding door) and the suite proper is suggested by a section of the suite’s flooring, with a stone effect contrasting against the soft textured surface around the bed.

The suite has a large bed designed to look like it is suspended in mid-air, like the drawer units, and a wardrobe with floor-to-ceiling doors. Here too, Salvagni has preferred materials and lines that exude natural elegance, not least thanks to the muted, matt colours. The main materials, including pale Thai wood with hints of mahogany, are predominantly matt (except for the polished brass, mirror and mahogany accents). Other details are in white lacquer and eco-leather (mainly on the bedheads wardrobe doors).

The extensive glazed surfaces flood the suite with a surprising amount of light, while the shape of the eco-leather bedhead is echoed in the niche behind the vanity top on the other side of the room, suggesting a certain symmetry between the two sides of the boat.

As can be seen, Azimut Yachts has once again decided to enrich the interiors by privileging the tension in the forms and the purity of clean lines, creating an atmosphere of suspension and fluidity pointed up by LED lighting and closely aligned with the concept of modern wellbeing. This ambience was designed to conjure up the desire for relaxation that only a boat can offer.

The lines of this new Azimut 68 are clean, harmonious and subtle. Designed by Alberto Mancini, who has always found inspiration in car design and built on this to develop a stylistic idiom that is breathing new life into yacht design, with decidedly advanced shape modelling and the replacement of certain steel details with fiberglass, giving them the strength of design features.

Here too, Azimut Yachts is pursuing a profound stylistic renewal, one characterised by extreme cleanness of design and line, where the dark side panels seem to merge with the windows, almost dematerialising them and giving the whole an admirable lightness.

Like the interiors, the external areas are characterised by transformability and multifunctionality, especially noticeable in the spacious bow zone, where part of the sun pad (over 2 meters long) can be flipped to create a huge lounge furnished with a facing pair of extra-deep and incredibly comfy sofas, ideal for moments of absolute relaxation and conviviality.

The Fly offers generous spaces and three separate zones: a spacious sun pad, a dining area, and a stern area that can also be used for sunbathing or furnished with large sofas as a conversation area.

The furnishing is based on flowing curved lines that echo the interiors, to the extent that some of items of furniture seem to float in the air. The eye-catching cockpit seat, in fact, is carefully designed to look like a self-standing sofa, in yet another reference to the world of large yachts. The transom provides access to the cabin for two members of crew, with an extra storage area on the side. A special Azimut Yachts edition of the Pirelli J33 tender is stowed on the swim platform.

This project too is a new step forward in Azimut Yachts’ drive to build lighter vessels with more space onboard, but without making any sacrifices in terms of their excellent consumption levels, stability and manoeuvrability. Extensive use of carbon fiber in the new 68’s topside (superstructure, hard top and part of the deck) lowers the center of gravity, for impeccable cruising considering the generous spaces offered by the yacht.

The hull designed in partnership with Pierluigi Ausonio’s firm P.L.A.N.A. is optimised to achieve maximum efficiency and autonomy, and above all ever lower consumption levels in line with Azimut Yachts’ design philosophy, which is to offer the market low impact products that respect the marine ecosystem. The high efficiency hull is paired with the ideal propulsion system, comprising two Volvo IPS 1350 engines delivering a top speed of 32 knots.

The new Azimut 68 is therefore light, silent and easy to manoeuvre and also features various solutions identified by Azimut Yachts’ Innovation Lab as part of its ECS – Enhanced Cruising Solutions programme, such as the Joystick Driving System, the Garmin Control Monitoring System, and active trim control.

As well as being provided with CE (category A) certification, the new Azimut 68 meets HTS High Technical Standard requirements, testifying to the high technical standards applied to the design. 

The Azimut 68 Flybridge is everything we have come to expect from the italian shipyard and more. It is  elegantly refined but with a simple push forward of the throttles turns the 68 into the true sports yacht it is, with handling and performance to take on any sea adventure.

Technical specifications: AZIMUT 68 Flybridge

Lunghezza fuori tutto	Length overall	20.98 m (68’ 10’’)
Larghezza max	Beam max	5.23 m – (17’ 2’’)
Immersione, max	Draft, max	1.60 m (5’ 3’’)
Dislocamento a pieno carico	Displacement full loaded	Approx 43.7 tons (96,342 lb)
Motorizzazione	Engines	2 x VOLVO IPS 1350 (1,000 Hp)
Velocità massima	Maximum speed	up to 32 knots
Velocità crociera	Cruise speed	up to 28 knots
Serbatoi carburante	Fuel tank capacity	3,700 l (977 US Gal)
Serbatoi acqua dolce	Water tank capacity	1,000 l (264 US Gal)
Cabine	Cabins	4 + 1 crew
Letti	Berths	8 + 2 crew
Bagni	Heads	3 + 1 crew
Materiale di costruzione	Building material	GRP + Carbon fiber
Costruttore	Builder	Azimut Yachts
Design esterni	Exterior designer	Alberto Mancini Yacht Design
Design interni	Interior designer	Achille Salvagni Architetti
Design carena	Hull designer	P.L. AUSONIO Naval Architecture & Azimut R&D Department.
Categoria / Certificazione	Category / certification	A

Azimut Yachts