The design studio Lazzarini has unveiled plans to build a new $8bn terayacht shaped like a giant turtle.
The size of the new luxury boat is difficult to comprehend: it will be twice the size of the Roman Colosseum, a precocious 550 meters long and 610 meters wide. It is expected to cost $8bn to construct, and its price tag will likely put it beyond the purchasing power of all but roughly a thousand people on Earth.
Someone, or some company, will be buying plenty with their money. The ship will include numerous villas and apartments, shopping complexes, parks, hotels, and ports for private planes and smaller ships, according to reporting from MSN. The terayacht will be named Pangeos, after the supercontinent Pangea that broke up roughly 195 million years ago.
Per MSN, construction on the ship would begin in 2033 if the project is approved. He cites reports that designers have identified a location at King Abdulla Port north of the Saudi Arabian capital of Jeddah as the ideal location to build, though there remain several hurdles to clear there.
Despite the fact that only the wealthiest sliver of humanity will likely be able to enjoy the ship, should it ultimately be built, proponents of the project have set up a crowdfunding initiative to help finance construction.
The crowdfunding site tells visitors that “Pangeos is not existing (yet) but we can make it real.” People can purchase a virtual ticket for entrance to the boat or a range of NFTs. There is also the option to download a 3D representation of the space that a person virtually purchases.
“An ambitious project needs ambitious guests! We believe a virtual space is the first step into a real development of the project, for this reason an Unreal Engine METAVERSE is now under construction,” the page reads.
