A new yacht brand makes its debut in Cannes with a 70-foot performance yacht designed around emotion, individuality and automotive-inspired design
CANNES, SEPTEMBER 2026 — The revolution, according to ICONA, starts now.
Unveiled at the Cannes Yachting Festival, ICONA 70 marks the debut of a newly established yacht brand founded by the Balducci family and Stefano Arlunno, co-founders and business partners of EFFEBI NEW PROJECT. The new company has introduced “ICONA inspired by Mangusta”, with the ICONA 70 presented as its inaugural model and developed to the construction standards of Overmarine Group.
Rather than positioning the yacht as another evolution of an existing platform, ICONA describes the 70 as an entirely new interpretation of the performance-yacht segment below 24 metres — one focused less on adding volume and features and more on emotion, purity and individuality.
The philosophy is immediately visible in the design.
A moving sculpture
The exterior, interior, ergonomics and helm were developed as one integrated project over approximately 18 months by designer Igor Lobanov, whose previous experience includes the Mangusta REV design language.
The resulting yacht has an unmistakably automotive character.
Its muscular hull surfaces remain visually uninterrupted, while a dramatic 3D-printed honeycomb engine air intake provides a technical signature inspired by the automotive world. The dark glazed superstructure visually disappears beneath the tapered hardtop, while the pillar-free forward windshield creates the impression of a fighter-jet canopy.
ICONA says the inspiration can even recall the proportions and attitude of a 1960s roadster suspended above the sea. Technical necessities such as the bow mooring area, anchor pocket and side tender bay have been integrated into the architecture rather than allowed to interrupt the design. The tender bay can accommodate a jet tender of up to 3.45 metres.
Designing around light and the sea
One of ICONA 70’s defining characteristics is its approach to space.
Natural light is treated almost as an architectural material, with a central living corridor running from the stern platform towards the cockpit and continuing into a luminous glass capsule. Large skylights on the lower deck create what the designers describe as a floating glass dome, visually connecting the interior with the sea and sky.
The yacht accommodates three spacious cabins, with ceiling height reaching 2.10 metres in the cabins and up to 2.85 metres within the vessel’s central area. The yacht has a 6.2-metre central beam, while continuous hull windows further enhance the sense of openness.
The full-beam master cabin adopts an open bathroom concept, creating an interior experience more commonly associated with a significantly larger yacht.
A 40-square-metre platform over the water
Perhaps the most dramatic transformation takes place at the stern.
Two large fold-down wings extend the yacht’s beam to more than nine metres, creating an approximately 40-square-metre overwater platform from a 70-foot yacht.
An integrated transformer staircase extends directly from the companionway into the water, creating a continuous connection between the yacht and the sea.
The aft area has been conceived as a flexible social environment that can move between open, protected, social and private configurations. L-shaped sunbeds incorporate convertible tables, while two sculptural elements inspired by vintage guitar amplifiers provide both functionality and character.
One incorporates an outdoor galley with refrigerator, ice maker and barbecue. The other houses a DJ station and storage. A premium audio system and colour-changing LED lighting complete an area designed around entertainment and social interaction.
The driver’s cockpit
The automotive philosophy continues at the helm.
Rather than a conventional bridge dominated by physical controls, ICONA 70 introduces what the company calls a minimalist driver’s cockpit.
Four integrated 19-inch touchscreens, four dedicated driving seats and a sculptural dashboard form a clean, technology-focused environment. Advanced systems include monitoring, joystick manoeuvring, Dynamic Positioning, forward-looking live sonar and assisted docking technologies.
The intention is to make the technology disappear into the experience rather than dominate it.
The Art of the Individual
ICONA is also placing considerable emphasis on personalisation.
Owners can select automotive-inspired exterior and interior colour combinations, while the brand’s Commission programme goes further, positioning customisation as a direct creative collaboration between the owner and the design team.
The objective is deliberately exclusive: to create an ICONA 70 that cannot simply be replicated from a catalogue.
Overmarine engineering, Studio Arnaboldi hull design
Behind the visual statement is a technical programme involving several established names.
The Overmarine Group Technical Department, led by Nicola Onori, has taken responsibility for the engineering challenge, applying construction methods used on larger yachts. The hull has been developed in collaboration with Studio Arnaboldi.
The yacht has been developed around a specific owner requirement: to maximise space and enjoyment within a 70-foot platform while remaining practical for owners who wish to operate with family or a minimal crew.
Propulsion comes from three Volvo Penta engines, with two configurations available. The highest-performance option uses D13 IPS1350 units delivering 1,000 hp / 735 kW per engine.
In its highest-power configuration, ICONA targets approximately 36 knots of maximum speed, around 30 knots cruising speed and approximately 270 nautical miles of range, with the figures subject to final specification and operating conditions.
The Volvo Penta IPS system is combined with joystick manoeuvring, Dynamic Positioning and Garmin’s latest-generation technology, including the Easy Docking Advance Assisted System.
A new proposition below 24 metres
ICONA 70 enters a highly competitive sector with an unusually clear proposition.
Rather than competing through size or an ever-growing list of features, the new brand is attempting to establish a recognisable design language around emotion, purity, performance and individuality.
Its combination of a highly sculptural exterior, automotive-inspired cockpit, transforming stern platform, large interior volumes and performance-oriented propulsion gives the ICONA 70 a distinctive position within the 70-foot category.
For the Balducci family, Stefano Arlunno, Igor Lobanov, Overmarine Group and the wider technical team, Cannes represents the beginning rather than the conclusion of the project.
ICONA 70 is presented not simply as a new yacht, but as the first expression of a new yacht brand — and, as ICONA puts it, the beginning of a movement.
