[imagesource: Lazzarini Design Studio]

We’ve seen some whacky concept yachts over the years.

The one that looks like it could be the set of a live-action remake of The Jetsons comes to mind.

Then there’s this – a megayacht designed by Pierpaolo Lazzarini, who wondered what it would be like to float around in a giant swan, before asking someone to hold his beer.

It’s taken him five years to design Avanguardia, and he’s hopeful that it will be snapped up by a brave shipyard.

The name is as pretentious as the boat itself, which, according to Forbes, takes its inspiration from nature.

Image: Lazzarini Design Studio

Here’s Lazzarini, expanding on that concept:

“We believe that nature already gives us the necessary design shapes to conceive new designs, so we based it on the swan – which is actually also our logo – because we believe it’s one of the most elegant animals in the way it moves, in the way it eats, and everything.”

If you have no idea what a swan looks like when it’s eating, observe:

Fair enough, I’ve seen worse.

Back to the megayacht.

While I can’t help thinking that it looks like a folded napkin in a fancy restaurant, the design, overall, is pretty impressive.

The neck, when in neutral, makes the yacht look like a swan floating on the waves

Then it extends flat onto the water where the “head” detaches and transforms into a tender.

Image: Lazzarini Design Studio

When the yacht was first conceived, the head was a detachable aircraft.

“The inspiration at the beginning was to have a detachable head that flies instead of going in the water, but we had to place a drone on the top and the landing was quite complicated,” he says.

Yeah, this detachable head thing is really ruining the magic for me.

“In five years, we tried many times to obtain the final shape. We tried about six different versions,” says Lazzarini.

Image: Lazzarini Design Studio

“Before, we had a real crane for the neck, which was working properly but it was not so nice in terms of design. The difficulty was to make it look cool and not like crane.”

If a shipyard is keen to take on the challenge of producing this thing, they might find themselves with a difficult task. While the body of the swan is tried and tested, the neck is going to need some engineering.

“It’s a concept and everything works but obviously in reality if somebody is going to develop this, they will probably change the design of the neck a bit because it’s so stylish but maybe not functional in the way it needs to be,” says Lazzarini.

Other highlights include a built-in car garage, helipad, and storage facility for two “jet capsule” tenders.

Image: Lazzarini Design Studio

If you can get past the idea that the swans head pops off and floats away, then it’s a beautiful yacht:

Hey, if you’ve ever dreamed of floating around in a luxury bird, this just might be the megayacht for you.

[source:forbes]