The ultimate travel toys on display at Monaco Yacht Show
FROM personal submarines to giant waterslides and custom-built sports cars, these toys for the mega-rich are outrageous.
EVERY September the mega-rich congregate in the tiny country of Monaco for one of the most prestigious yacht shows in the world.
With an average attendance of 33,000 participants over four days and nearly 100 events organised by exhibitors in the palaces of Monte Carlo and on-board yachts, there’s plenty to keep visitors entertained.
There’s 121 spectacular superyachts with an average value of $A40 million on display at the Monaco Yacht Show in historic Port Hercule.
Besides the yachts, the most popular must-have toys at this year’s event look set to be a personal submarine, a supercar designed to fit onto a boat and a crazy inflatable slide.
Here are some of the highlights:
The Dragon: It might look like a racing car but it’s a two-person electric submarine that can plunge to 120 metres below sea level.
Built by Deepflight, the Dragon is the first of their submarines to offer hovering capability, allowing complete freedom to cruise alongside big animals or stop and hover over ancient shipwrecks.
The Dragon has fixed positive buoyancy, meaning that it will always naturally float back to the surface.
And due to in-built technology that monitors and manages critical functions, you only need minimal training to pilot the Dragon.
At 1800 kilograms and only five metres in length, the Dragon is able to fit on more yachts than any other submarine on the market, with little or no retrofit required, says Deepflight.
It can be yours for around $A2.14 million (£975,000).
The Voyager: The 61 metre (201ft) Voyager expedition yacht from Ocean Independence is currently on display in Monaco. One of the largest yachts of her time, she offers between nine and 12 staterooms.
FunAir slide: The inflatable slide has blown up to become the must-have accessory in a
yacht’s toy arsenal.
Funfair co-founder, Mark Anastasia and his team in Texas have created over 200 custom slides for super yachts across the globe since turning heads with the first sealed air inflatable slide that hooks over yacht railings in 2009.
The Mono Marine Edition: The Briggs Automotive Company has designed one of the most exclusive must-haves — a seaworthy version of its ultra-high-performance Mono sports car.
The single-seater car is aimed at drivers who want a lightweight performance car.
Its maximum speed is 250 kilometres per hour and it costs over a million Aussie dollars (£500,000).
A Bell helicopter: Time is money, the age-old saying goes, and the fastest way to get your holiday started is by helicopter. Here a Bell 429 helicopter is perched on the landing deck on board the Voyager superyacht.
The helicopter will set you back around $A9 million (£4.1 million).
Here are some of the other boats on display this week.
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