80 Sunreef Power Eco - Luxury’s pact with the sun

A year after the launch of the first 80 ECO sailing yacht, Sunreef Yachts has now presented a Power ECO version. This luxury multiyacht has abandoned its rig but retains its electric motor. We got the chance to sail aboard this exceptional unit at the Cannes Yachting Festival. Once past the bling of the French Riviera and the gleaming stainless steel, we naturally wondered about the relevance of the builder’s ecological approach: Is it possible to reconcile luxury yacht performance and ecology - or at least a significant reduction in fuel consumption - in the same powercat?

In recent years, the leading brand of luxury catamarans has become accustomed to the presence of a world star at the launch of its new models. After tennis player Rafael Nadal for the 80 Power and racing driver Fernando Alonso for the 60 Power Eco, it’s now the explorer Mike Horn who graced us with his presence at the World Premiere that took place at the recent Cannes Yachting Festival. The illustrious adventurer is very much involved in the field of new, environmentally friendly energy sources, notably by developing, in collaboration with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, or CEA (Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives), a fuel cell which could certainly be installed on board our recreational multihulls in the future. Its presence confirms the green positioning that the brand asserts and assumes, bringing environmental legitimacy. The 80 we discovered does not deviate from the brand’s usual minimum standards. Record habitability, a diversity of spaces and tailor-made luxury confirm the Sunreef signature. But this time, it’s not the glittery pa...