It isn’t enough for the ultra-rich to simply own a yacht anymore. They’re now competing to have the biggest, most outlandish, and instantly recognizable yacht designs on the water, whether that means making them look like , equipping them with or , streets and all. The latest is Zion, which might be the weirdest-looking of them all. Designed by Indian firm , this 360-foot superyacht features a bottom half mimicking modern military ships and an upper half that looks like a giant squid with a terrifying all-seeing eyeball.
The design draws inspiration from , equating them with the mysteries of the deep. What looks like an eyeball is really a spherical glass dome providing guests with multi-level viewing platforms and uninterrupted 180-degree vistas of the ocean. The Zion is capable of hosting 20 guests in 10 luxury rooms, including a master suite on the main deck, along with 20+ crew members. A glass elevator travels from deck to deck, and a flybridge allows passengers to enjoy views “in all weather conditions.”
“The owners suites located at the main deck have electrically operated sky lounge balconies on either side,” the designers explain. “The main deck has open dining space connected to the glass bottom infinity swimming pool via hanging bridge. The lower deck has a large tender garage that allows for easy and safe deployment of tenders, jet skis, and other water toys. At the aft of the lower deck is a beach club with a dedicated gym and an open garden space. The beach club converts into an expandable sun bathing space through foldout bulwark terraces. The upper deck has a 12-meter helipad accessible by glass column elevator to all the decks.”
The glass bottom infinity pool is definitely a notable feature here, as is the nearly 40-foot helipad on the upper deck. Then again, are you even superyachting if you don’t have these? The main deck also has an open plan alfresco dining area adjacent to the pool, accessible via a sizable hanging bridge stretching beneath the helipad. The side terraces offer direct access to the water via ladders.
The Zion is currently just a concept, and Bhushan Powar Design says they created it just for fun. But we all know that billionaires love to collect outrageously expensive toys, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all if one of these were commissioned to hit the seas in real life. It would undoubtedly come with a very high price tag, but that’s nothing new.
The top range from the $300 million Pelorus, owned by Hong Kong property tycoon Samuel Tak Lee, to the $4.8 billion History Supreme. The most expensive yacht of all time was designed by Stuart Hughes for an anonymous Malaysian businessman rumored to be Robert Kuok, founder of the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts chain.
Wondering what in the world would make the History Supreme so expensive? Well, let’s start with the 100,000 kilograms of solid gold and platinum used in its construction, including the base, deck, railings, and anchor. Then there’s the real T-Rex bone mounted on a wall made of meteoric stone in the main bedroom.
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