What a pain in the ass owning six boats is, amirite my billionaire brothers? Part of that problem might be about to go away for a lucky few– German shipwright shop Kormaran is cooking up a rocket ship for the water that can cycle through six distinct setups on the fly.
Dr. Oliver Kormann and Dipl.-Bw. (BA) Jutta Kormann started cooking up the idea for a "transformable" luxury watercraft in 2007. The effort began in earnest in 2009 when the first patents were awarded. This year, the second prototype is being shown off for the first time.
The Kormaran, named as a sort of a mashup between the creators' names and the "catamaran" classification of a two-hulled boat, is almost 23' long with a 18' waterline. But it carries a draught of less than a foot; that means it's got very low water resistance and will have an easier time going fast.
To make speed even easier; the vessel is powered by three jets producing 500 metric horsepower. (Note: the spec was initially interpreted as 3 500 horsepower jets.) Top speed is 38 knots (44 MPH) which is rather quick on the water. The fastest dual-V8 powered Cigarette-style luxury speed boats do around 90 MPH using all the gasoline there is. The Kormaran can travel almost 60 nautical miles at full tilt without a refuel.
All structural parts are carbon fiber, and the deck is a lovely teak. A combination of hydraulics and electric motors cycle the vessel between six "modes;" a Monohull, Katamaran (two parts in the water), Trimaran (three), Bathingmode which opens up a sun deck, Flightmode which lowers two keels into the ocean for stability at speed, and Nightmode which turns on some sexy lights.
Right now the Kormaran is on exhibition in Monaco, and if you've got the scratch to be in Monaco at all you can probably arrange an appointment to check out the machine in person.
Images straight from Kormaran. Hat tip to Eddie!