Aston Martin yachts and subs take the British car company’s brand beyond spies

Aston Martin yachts and subs were a hot topic at the Monaco Yacht Show (MYS). Aston Martin still makes amazing automobiles, but the marque is branching out. The brand is now associated with yachts and submarines. This past week, the Aston Martin AM37 yacht, designed and built in collaboration with Quintessence Yachts, made its official debut at MYS. Aston Martin and Triton also presented Neptune, a joint venture concept for a 3-seat personal submarine.

You remember when Aston Martin was most known in the U.S. as the exotic brand for James Bond’s rides, right? Bond needed cars with trunk-mounted flamethrowers, oil slick shooters, machine guns under the front fenders, and more. If the passengers were a threat, he just pushed a red button to blast them through the roof on an ejection seat.

Ultra-luxury superyacht builder Feadship collaborated with Quintessence at the Monaco Yacht Show. Feadship’s used two AM37 prototype yachts as tenders to transport VIP guests on the former company’s “Superyacht Safari” — a guided tour of Feadship superyachts moored in Monaco Bay. We’re impressed at the shrewdness of using ultra cool new yachts to taxi the uber-wealthy to check out even cooler and much larger yachts. The point is well-taken, however, that it’s likely that superyacht owners who can’t find any more ways to spend money on their larger vessels may well be the first market for the sophisticated Aston Martin Quintessence yachts.

Guests who rode on the tenders likely noticed the differences in styling. One AM37 was Diavolo Red with Cream Truffle leather upholstery, and the other was Ocellus Teal with Ivory leather and teak decks. Personalization is a major theme with the AM37. It’s highly unlikely, according to the company, that any two AM37s will be alike unless specifically ordered that way.

It’s noteworthy that the first delivered AM37, built for an unidentified customer in Miami, was ordered with every single item available on the options and accessories list. The customer specified the most powerful AM37S setup, with two 520-horsepower Mercury Racing engines, a champagne cooler, and an item not on the list prior to his ordering it: underwater fluorescent lighting. The color choice for the Miami-bound yacht is Charcoal Lacquer with grey Novasuede, ordered to match his new Aston Martin Vantage AMR road car.

Project Neptune joins “Triton’s diving and operational expertise with Aston Martin’s design, materials, and craftsmanship,” according to the joint press release. A strictly limited edition personal submarine, Neptune will be based on Triton’s existing Low Profile 3-person submarine platform. Aston Martin chief creative officer Marek Reichman told Bloomberg Aston Martin expects Neptune can travel 1,650 feet under water at speeds up to 3.5 miles per hour. Reichman also said the sub will cost about $4 million and require approximately 12 months from order to delivery.

Digital Trends has not seen the option list for either the AM37 or Project Neptune. We rather doubt ejection seats, flamethrowers, and self-operating machine guns are standard accessories. But you can always ask.