Tthe owner went through 18 months of weekly calls with the builder before committing.

Sanlorenzo

Italian yacht builder Sanlorenzo has just introduced Virtuosity, the second hull in its flagship 74Steel series, marking a notable milestone thanks to an unusually close collaboration between owner and designer. It comes at a busy time for the Italian yacht builder—according to SuperYachtiQ, Sanlorenzo has 102 superyacht projects under construction currently.

Launched at the yard’s site in La Spezia, the 243-foot superyacht is built on the same diesel-electric platform as the first 74Steel but diverges significantly in layout and concept. The project was developed over more than four years, including an extended pre-design phase focused on how the owner intended to live on board.

At the center of the yacht is its most unconventional feature: a full-scale living tree that rises through two decks via a vertical opening in the overhead of the main saloon. Rather than being decorative, the tree was integrated into the structure from the very outset, with surrounding architecture designed to support its growth through controlled light and environmental systems.

The result is less about styling and more about incorporating natural features into a marine environment. It’s arguably the most impressive realization of this trend that we’ve seen in recent years (the moss wall on this yacht is another feature that embodies the trend, on a lesser scale). A spokesperson for Sanlorenzo said, “The tree [a ficus nitida] was carefully selected on precise botanical and dimensional criteria, ensuring full compatibility with the available space and with its expected longterm growth.”

Other features push similar boundaries. A partially submerged underwater window (or a Nemo lounge) is built into the hull, allowing views below the waterline from a wellness area that includes a hammam, sauna and treatment rooms. At sea level, the beach club is rechristened the Ocean Resort and extends across roughly 230 square meters with fold-down platforms and a glass-bottom pool that sends light down into the space.

Interior design is by Canadian-Italian studio and yachting newcomer Studio Paolo Ferrari, which handled the interior architecture and custom furnishings. The decision to use shore-based designers worked well in this case, with Paolo Ferrari bringing some fresh, outside-the-box concepts to the table.

Yachting heavyweight and long-time Sanlorenzo collaborator Zuccon International Project also worked on the design, primarily handling the yacht’s exterior lines. The profile has been refined compared to the first 74Steel, with a more dynamic bow and a slightly sportier overall stance, adding a younger, more elegant appeal.

A winter garden veranda on the bridge deck, a private owner’s deck with a reflecting pool and an enclosed gym on the sun deck all reflect an effort to reorganize conventional onboard hierarchies. Technical spaces have also been reinterpreted to support these design ambitions while also providing increased comfort for the crew.

Sanlorenzo positions the 1,950 GT Virtuosity as an example of its “owner-centric” approach, using a standardized engineering base to enable highly individualized outcomes. The project was overseen by brokerage and management firm Fraser Yachts and reflects a broader trend in the upper segment of the superyacht market toward more hands-on client involvement.

While many of her features are new and novel, Virtuosity ultimately builds on an existing technical framework. Her charm is in how that framework has been adapted to turn a production platform into a highly personalized environment that blends architecture, design and new, boundary-pushing concepts in ways rarely attempted on a superyacht.

It comes at a busy time for the Italian yacht builder. According to SuperYachtiQ, Sanlorenzo has 102 superyacht projects under construction currently.