The Icon is an all-glass yacht with an Oscar-winning soundtrack
- The Icon is a yacht built by BMW and Tyde
- The yacht is largely made from glass
- The interior looks like a five-star hotel
Published on Jul 18, 2024 at 7:53 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Jul 25, 2024 at 11:51 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
The Icon – BMW’s first yacht – is one of those vehicles that pop out of nowhere.
One day, BMW is making cars with massive grilles, and the next, they are making a boat in partnership with a company called Tyde.
But this is no ordinary boat.
The Icon is special for a long list of reasons, starting with the glass structure.
The yacht is currently available from SBX Cars, with zero nautical miles under her tires – so to speak.
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The Icon – or THE ICON in all caps, which is how BMW stylized the name – is unlike anything else we have seen before.
It’s a foiling boat, characterized by a flat trimaran-style hull with a ‘prism-like’ layout and a central support for the superstructure.
The Icon features a wide, flat stern with a maximum beam of 4.5 meters (14ft 9in) that tapers towards a knife-like reverse-angled bow.
The LED lights that light the yacht up at night are the cherry on top of the cake.
An Oscar-winning soundtrack
A few years ago, BMW teamed up with Hans Zimmer, an Oscar-winning Hollywood composer, to create a custom soundtrack for its electric cars.
While they were at it, BMW and Tyde asked Zimmer to create a soundtrack for the propulsion system of The Icon.
It’s a neat trick, chiefly because it’s something no one else had thought of, and it makes the experience even more unique.
The Icon interior is halfway between a supercar and a hotel
For the interior, The Icon combines elements of a supercar with design cues you’d expect from a five-star hotel or a luxury airport lounge.
It follows the same color theme as the exterior, with ocean blue upholstery and gold-tone accents.
In the cabin, you’ll find six 360-degree rotating armchairs with individual tablets within arm’s reach, as well as plush sofas and soft suede carpeting.
In the middle of the deck, the command station has iDrive-style controls and voice control, and you also get a 32-inch ‘infotainment’ touchscreen display with 6k resolution.
Supercar-like performance figures
The Icon is powered by two 134-hp (100-kW) electric motors and six batteries.
The yacht produces 240kWh in total, giving it a top speed of 30 knots – equivalent to around 55km/h on land.
More importantly, this means The Icon is faster than most watercraft this side of a speedboat.
In terms of range, The Icon can cover 50 nautical miles (100 kilometers / 62 miles) on a charge.
The auction is live now on SBX Cars, and it ends on July 31st.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
