FLOATING PALACE

Monaco wherever you go: Super yacht designed to mimic billionaires' playground city – complete with go-kart track that replicates the F1 circuit – is a drop in the ocean at £244MILLION

• Ship concept features notable landmarks from Mediterranean city-state, including iconic Hotel de Paris
• Amazingly, it boasts a go kart track to allow passengers to experience thrill of the world-famous motor race
• The 155 metre ship is currently a concept but would cost £244m to see the light of day

Designs for a £244million gargantuan yacht that replicates the streets of playboy's playground Monaco have been unveiled.

Christened 'The Streets Of Monaco', the super ship mimics the key landmarks of the wealthy city-state, including the famous Hotel de Paris, Prince's Palace, Loews Hotel, Port Hercule and La Rascasse.

It also boasts a go kart race track that replicates the famous Grand Prix track, as well as a helipad, mini submarine, speedboats, jet skis, swimming pools and Jacuzzis.

A floating palace: 'The Streets Of Monaco' is a concept for a £244million yacht that incorporates landmarks from the city-state, including the F1 track, including go karts

Rob McPherson, one of the founders of the project, said: 'The theme is based around the Mediterranean principality with the primary focus being the famous grand prix circuit.

'The idea was to recreate the circuit as a fully-functional kart track able to accommodate three karts side-by-side to allow for plenty of overtaking. By sizing the track in this way it has driven the overall dimensions of the yacht and the placement of the famous landmarks.

'The Monaco story extends beyond this exterior architecture and into the interior spaces giving a seamless transition as guests move between the various areas of the yacht.'

Stretching to a staggering 155 metre in length, the ship accommodates 16 guests and 70 crew and travels at a top speed of 15 knots.

Opulent: The interior of the ship is also designed to invoke the luxurious trappings of Monaco

The team that designed the incredible concept have backgrounds in a wide variety of sectors including marine, aerospace and interior design

Connected to all decks via a private lift and spread over three floors, the owner's apartment is the most extravagant section of the ship and features a fire place, double height ceiling, office, bedroom, private courtyard, sunroom and a private sundeck with a Jacuzzi/swimming pool.

Rob added: 'The team all have alternate careers working across various sectors including marine, aerospace and interior design.

'The desire to do something new and interesting as well as a significant interest in storytelling through architecture and environment were the driving forces.'

The ship also boasts a go kart race track that replicates the famous Grand Prix track, as well as a helipad, mini submarine, speedboats, jet skis, swimming pools and Jacuzzis

He added: 'It took around six months to produce the Monaco concept. I think the team all have their favourite elements but all are incredibly proud of the end result.

'We have had a significant amount of interest from the general public wanting to take cruises and a number of enquiries for potential commercial applications.

'We are actively looking for clients either private or commercial with the vision to realise this new and interesting design direction.

'Build cost is incredibly difficult to assess without a fully defined specification, but a starting price of around $400million would be a sensible starting point escalating from there.'