The Exhibition of Düsseldorf has been the occasion for Elan Yachts to announce the arrival of a new boat, Elan GT5, and to launch the new Touring range.
Their promises are many and demanding and they can be resumed in what is a commitment at the moment: to create a boat which can revolutionise the concept of performing cruise. In summary, racer performances but with great comfort.
After all, this seems to be the declared aim of any cruiser/racer builder.
In particular, Elan wants to combine experience and the planning techniques used for E and S ranges, the fast and sporting cruise, in order to create a yacht with the same performances than the previous models but with more comfort and elegance.
The news is fresh and there are only few data and pictures. We only know that the designer, Rob Humpreys, has worked by putting all the innovation elements on the previous hulls. So, he proposes  the 12-metre hull with a corner again in order to intensify stability and reduce the wet surface if you run on a beam wind, by obtaining less resistance and greater speed.
The presence of the corner has of course a consequence on interiors, which will benefit from greater volumes in the astern zone.
In this model, too, there will be two rudder blades assuring great command, efficiency in case of swerved boat and lighter loads.
There will be a T-shaped keel with a final bulb. Any news about draught hasn’t been published, except for the very low barycenter. Maybe, the boat will have a bigger sailing area than previous models.
In the fore sections, the designer has expressed the necessity of some changes.
In particular, he has created a more solid area with a new deckhouse, a half-deck which should provide more brightness, larger interiors and bigger open-air surfaces.
As regards interiors, innovations concern above all space arrangement. The kitchen is placed forwards, with a consequent greater space and comfort. Moreover, since Elan has insisted on the concept of comfortable and elegant interiors, we suppose that innovations will concern materials and fabrics, too.
We just have to wait for the first updates, maybe with more detailed renderings and some additional details about construction.
