About Benetti shipyard
Founded in 1873 by Lorenzo Benetti the yard was later renamed Fratelli Benetti by his sons. Like many older shipyards it started with building commercial boats, and sometimes military ones – at the times when it was relevant. After the Second World War they gradually switched to building yachts, and by early 1960s they developed their first 18-33 m models – really large for that time and incredibly popular. In 1980 they launched one of the largest yachts of the time – the 86-meter Nabila – for one of the richest people in the world, a Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi. The yacht that features in one of the Bond films, “Never Say Never Again”, was later owned by the sultan of Brunei and former US president Donald Trump, who transformed her into Trump Princess. However, construction of such a large superyacht led to a difficult financial situation, and in 1985 Fratelli Benetti was acquired by the founder and owner of Azimut Yachts Paolo Vitelli. As a result, one of the largest companies in the yachting industry was created — Azimut-Benetti Group. Thanks to this merger Benetti turned into a huge, super modern shipyard with production sites on the west coast of Italy in Viareggio and Livorno.
Highlights
Benetti builds both custom yachts based on absolutely individual projects and ‘platform’ superyachts of several lines that differ in design and technical characteristics considerably. Class range has a classical Benetti design and is made of fiberglass. Oasis models created together with the British RWD studio offer a new concept of layout and a huge beach club. BNow range also styled by RWD studio is steel yachts of short-term construction period, but with wide opportunities for customization. B.Yond are steel expedition yachts, and B.Century includes the largest ‘platform’ superyachts of modern design.
Achievements
Benetti yachts are the winners of all kinds of international awards, and Benetti's production capacity allows it to build up to 35 yachts simultaneously, including those that are over 100 m.
