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Beep, beep! Or perhaps we should say, “Ahoy, there!”
An Italian design firm is making waves by transposing the classic design of a 1960s Volkswagen bus onto a pontoon boat — and it looks really cute!
Floating Motors, a startup by Italian designer Pierpaolo Lazzarini, marries small watercraft with adorable auto designs from the past. The Volkswagen is just one idea; there’s also a Mini Cooper and a couple of Fiats among the retro-cool designs.
Here’s a YouTube video showing off a number of the designs, including that friendly VW bus — which looks like a groovy place to hang:
There’s even a diving platform off the back, for quick cool-offs.
Now, you may be studying that video, enjoying the cuteness, and find yourself thinking: “Sweet, but why do the people on the boat look like Sims?”
Well, that’s because Floating Motors hasn’t actually made any of the VW-style boats just yet.
The company is still gathering funding for the project, paired with another of Lazzarini’s ventures, JetCapsule. Investors can kick Floating Motors some money to get perks — or consider ordering one of the company’s current models.
Fortunately, their other designs are equally adorable. Here’s “La Dolce”:
According to Floating Motors, this little guy will set you back at least $30,000 — the cost includes the boat as well as a 70-horsepower outboard motor. Delivery takes about eight months. (If you preorder now, you might get it in time for late summer 2022!)
Another option: La Foil, which also looks like a vintage Fiat 500, but it floats on a hydrofoil instead of a pontoon base.
La Foil includes a 70-horsepower electric engine and pricing starts at $60,000.
Anglophiles will love the MiniMare, a Mini Cooper-style pontoon complete with Union Jack paint job. With seating for four, it’s a little bigger than La Dolce, but its engines have double the horsepower to compensate.
The price? A reasonable $40,000.
There are more available models, both larger than these, with starting prices topping out at $220,000.
The VW bus is currently listed as “coming soon.” If you’ve got (a lot of) fun money stored up, you, too, can join the seafaring hippie lifestyle. Far out!
[H/t: Crafty]
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