The History of Mangusta Yachts
The story of Mangusta is an Italian dream realised by Giuseppe Balducci, the company founder. Giuseppe was born in Limite sull’Arno, a seaside town in Tuscany where he began his career working in a historic shipyard in Viareggio, but his entrepreneurial spirit and his talent for capturing market trends soon spurred him to look for more. Thus Elettromare, Effebi and, later, the Overmarine Group were born.
The Balducci family founded Mangusta in 1985, choosing a symbolic and meaningful name for the company. At the time, the leading brand for open, fast sailing vessels was Cobra by Tecnomarine. Named after the mongoose – the only animal that can tackle and defeat cobras – Mangusta clearly set out to challenge the status quo.
The family-owned and family-managed business now includes Giuseppe’s children, Maurizio and Katia Balducci. We are a team deep rootly in our Italian heritage, always loyal to our original values, yet able to keep our gaze aimed towards the future.

Since the beginning of its journey, Mangusta revolutionized yachting with its innovations. In the 1990s, the company launched the Mangusta 80. Up until that moment, “open” yachts had never reached 80 feet in length and, most importantly, had always forced buyers to compromise between speed and space, sportiness and comfort. Mangusta changed that forever, building a large, high-performance sports yacht that was exceptionally comfortable and liveable. The Mangusta 80 was a huge success, leaving its mark in history and making the brand known all over the world. It was the beginning of Maxi Open! Over the years, models grew even bigger. Their streamlined, sporty lines make them timeless classics – true icons in their field.
Visionaries by nature, Mangusta’s engineers continue to achieve new heights in yacht design and performance. In recent years, the company had developed two new lines. In 2016, we introduced the first tri-deck yacht in the Mangusta Oceano line: displacement vessels with great range that allow you to travel the world in style, to any destination and across any distance. More recently, the new Mangusta GranSport line launched, setting a new benchmark by merging top performances and transoceanic range. Mangusta’s story continues, with a fleet destined to grow.
Mangusta believes that every yacht is a perfect opportunity to fuel Owners’ dreams. And to surpass them. It is a journey that begins by hearing Clients’ desires and visions, continues by building a shape around them, and is completed by designing custom interiors and adding the engineering and technological expertise found at Mangusta shipyards. A journey that crosses the ocean and reaches perfection. Where the only limit is your imagination. Visionaries by nature, dream shapers by tradition.

Shipyards are Mangusta’s real, beating heart. Located in Tuscany near Massa, Viareggio and Pisa, the company’s various production sites total approximately 190,000 square metres and closely control every step entailed in building a new yacht. From design to manufacture and from launch to delivery, this is where dreams by Mangusta take shape.
Mangusta’s Pisa production plant is at Pisa’s Dock (Darsena Pisana), just 5 minutes from the city’s airport. It is completely dedicated to metalworking, especially for the two new Mangusta Oceano and Mangusta GranSport lines. The plant extends over 22,000 square meters, allowing for various megayachts up to 70 meters to be built at the same time. The location also includes a showroom and a dedicated technical department
The Viareggio shipyard focuses mostly on building Mangusta Maxi Open models, fast and sporty yachts that have become icons of the brands across the globe. At this location, Mangusta also has its headquarters, a creative department ready to meet any Owners’ style needs, a cutting-edge technical department, a quay with expert captains and a 24/7 after-sales department.
The Massa plant is dedicated to forming and rolling activities, needed in manufacturing large composite yachts. An internationally renowned shipyard, upholding the highest standards in quality, technology, engineering and production capacity. Article created by Torrens Luxury Collection, Gold Coast Australia. For more Luxury Yachting articles and blogs just go to www.torrens.yachts/blog or contact us on 1300 148 648.
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