Superyacht with attached flying balloon

The Colossea superyacht is equipped with a 10,000 kg airship on top, helping to transport passengers in areas that are difficult for yachts to access.

Superyacht with attached flying balloon — Concept superyacht Colossea with airship. Video: *Lazzarini Design*

Italian designer Pierpaolo Lazzarini has unveiled a 204-meter superyacht concept, Colossea, which is a floating platform for a detachable airship, Design Boom reported on March 2. The structure above the yacht has a landing pad designed to fit the shape of the airship, allowing it to take off and land easily.

The concept was meant to recall the Italian airship N1 (later renamed Norge), which took off on its first test flight in Rome about a century ago. On May 12, 1926, N1 completed the first verified flight to the North Pole, becoming the first aircraft to fly over the polar ice cap between Europe and the Americas.

With Colossea, Lazzarini reinterprets the iconic N1 design using modern materials and technology. The new airship is the same size as before but has upgraded propulsion and materials, made from carbon fiber from the inside to the outside and propelled by eight electric motors.

The Colossea can accommodate 44 passengers and 20 crew members. The airship, meanwhile, can carry 24 passengers and 10 crew members, and can not only transport passengers in areas that are difficult for superyachts to reach, but it can also become the main means of transportation for long periods of time.

Inside the Colossea airship are 22 separate compartments that house components such as liquid hydrogen tanks, batteries, cabins, and various other internal structures. Liquid hydrogen is pumped into the compartments to adjust the necessary weight balance and also serves as a hydrogen reserve in case of gas leakage.

The airship is covered in solar panels at the top, but its engines run on liquid hydrogen and are capable of reaching a top speed of 100 mph. Meanwhile, the superyacht's propulsion comes from four HTS engines with a top speed of 25 mph. The yacht can use the airship's propellers to receive additional thrust and move more efficiently.

Thu Thao (According to Design Boom )

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