Nord C Yachts FortyFive
Founded by world-respected auto execs, Nord C Yachts, and their first model, the FortyFive, looks to make a big splash.
Nord C Yachts is aiming to bring unparalleled craftsmanship and clean operation to the world of boatbuilding. The Swedish company is claiming its FortyFive model, the first in its line, will combine luxury with an innovative approach to environmentally responsible manufacture and function.
The brainchild of Leif Tufvesson, formerly Chief Technology Officer at Swedish hypercar maker Koenigsegg, and Volvo Cars board member Thomas Andersson, first details of the Nord C show it will have a hull made of recycled aluminum powered by an electric engine with range extender.
One of the company’s key goals is to minimize waste and pollution, and to maximize recycling during manufacture and -operation of the craft. “The C in our name stands for circular,” says Andersson, referring to the recycling approach. “It is our belief that luxury boating includes the responsibility to treat our planet with respect.”
But this is not some worthy but dull craft, Tufvesson says: “The craftsmanship of the Nord C FortyFive will be unparalleled in the yachting world. Our aim is to create iconic pieces which increase in value over time as collector items.”
Tufvesson has a strong track record of doing exactly that in the automotive space. As the technical brains behind the highly sought after Koenigseggs and now as the CEO of his own coachbuilding company, Caresto, Tufvesson has built an eclectic garage of highly valuable one-off cars ranging from a Batmobile replica to an all-electric version of the Volvo P1800.
The first renderings of the FortyFive, which will be built at the company’s base in Ängelholm, Sweden, show it to have a solar roof and a similar profile to a 48 Wallytender or Vanquish VQ48. But there are few clues to the boat’s interior specification. This is intentional, according to Tufvesson: “This will be the only yacht in its class based on a modular approach which offers the owner and crew the freedom to use it for multiple purposes.”
That freedom extends all the way to co-creating the final specification of the craft with the Nord C staff. “This is an exclusive opportunity to design or have it designed by [Tufvesson], or a designer or artist of your choice, your own trademark innovation in the boat,” the company says.
Another Nord C novelty—and its connection to the U.S. market—is that a chunk of the as-yet-unannounced price of the FortyFive will be donated to Anthony Kennedy Shriver’s charity, Best Buddies International. The company expects the FortyFive to debut in the U.S. in early 2021.
