VITA e-boat raises $1.2 million for AIDS research
The sale of a Vita X, the new electric powerboat from Vita Yachts, was the second highest selling item of the night at the 2019 Cinema Against AIDS gala in Cannes last Thursday and raised the exceptional sum of $1.2 million for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).
It was quite the party, organized by event specialists tuff Consult and featuring performances by Mariah Carey, Tom Jones, The Struts and a surprise opening by Austrian operatic tenor Andreas Schager, whose powerful rendition of ‘Nessun Dorma’ set the stage for the night.
Stewart Wilkinson, Founder and Chairman of Vita Yachts, commented: “It has been a pleasure to work with amfAR on this unique event. Vita is an outward-looking company, founded specifically to make positive contributions to the most important conversations facing society today, and amfAR’s philosophy is one that we greatly admire”
The Foundation has raised more than $550 million over the past 32 years on behalf of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy worldwide.
The Vita X is gorgeous both outside and in
Vita Yachts was established in 2017 with the aim of bringing the latest in automotive technology and engineering to the marine world. Its team draws together specialists in F1 engineering, the superyacht industry, the finance industry, the luxury automotive sector and high-end product design.
The new Vita X is obviously gorgeous on the outside, but its beauty is much more than skin deep. Vita has developed a groundbreaking propulsion system that uses twin 200 bhp water jet drives. BHP is usually used as a reference for power in performance automobiles and converts to 150 kilowatts. (For the technically curious, the motors are UQM Powerphase HD220s coupled with Alamarin AJ245 Water Jets, all powered by four Kreisel 58.75kWh liquid cooled lithium ion battery packs).
Kilowatts or BHP, the motors deliver a cruising speed of 25 knots and a sprint speed of 40 knots. (45-75kmh / 28-46mph).
Inspired by the grand European speedboats
Vita’s mottos is: “Inspired by Tradition Powered by Electricity” and the tradition is evident in the X’s elegant lines, inspired by classic European speedboats and finished with teak decks, chrome accents and Italian leather upholstery.
It also boasts a flexible interior configuration with movable seating that can be switched from High Speed mode (facing forward) to Lounge mode (facing each other) to Dining mode, when a table rises from the cockpit floor.
The winning bidder will also be able to take advantage of the Vita superPowerTM – the world’s first marine supercharger network which we wrote about when it premiered at the Yacht Club de Monaco a few weeks ago and also in our list of 6 recent world firsts in electric boats.
amfAR Gala photo courtesy tuff Consult
