The Ferretti Group debuted its Ferretti Yachts 960 flagship motor yacht to the US in a special event on the eve of the Fort Lauderdale boat show. The 960 made a dramatic debut by cruising down the waterway and pulling up alongside the pre-boat show party being held at the Ferretti Group's showroom in Fort Lauderdale.
The 960 made her world debut at the Cannes boat show this summer, where the new 960 was sold, and now hull No 2 crosses the Atlantic to launch to the US press and public. Hull No 2 was sold to an American client who used the boat in the Mediterranean this summer and hull No 3 will arrive in time for the Miami boat show this winter.
'We are trying to set it up so when we launch in Europe, if it's a fit for the American market, we also launch it here,' says James Henderson, Ferretti Group America's president and CEO of the Ferretti 960's US debut event. Henderson emphasised the Group's commitment to inventory, which is demonstrated with the Ferretti Group having what is said to be the largest display at the Fort Lauderdale boat show with more than 20 boats on view.
The 29.2m yacht is the top of Italian builder’s Ferretti Yachts lineup. Based on the hull and styling of Ferretti Yachts' previous flagship, the Ferretti 881, the 960 carries on the family heritage of the line. Design of the 960 was a collaboration between Studio Zuccon International Project, Advanced Yacht Technology & Design and the Ferretti Group’s in-house team of engineers, architects and designers. Differing from her predecessors, the 960 benefits from enlarged ports and windows allowing more daylight inside.
The 960 was built at the Ferretti Group’s Cattolica shipyard – it is the largest planing-hull yacht to ever come from the Ferretti Group. As such, she is also the first to have five large guest staterooms; four equal-size staterooms are on the lower deck while the master stateroom is found on the main deck. Crew quarters for five crew members in three cabins are found forward.
The Ferretti 960's standard version is powered by twin MTU 16V 2000 M84 engines, providing a top speed of 27.5 knots and a cruising speed of 24 knots with a range of 340 nautical miles. But for hull number one, which Boat International sea trialed this summer, a more powerful option was chosen which allows for a top speed of 31 knots and a cruising speed of 27 knots – during the sea trial the Ferretti Yachts 960 motor yacht got up to 32 knots.