Sorry if a repost: From supercars to a super speedboat: Lexus unveils a stunning 885hp carbon-fibre sports yacht with twin V8 engines and power-adjustable seats The engines are based on the unit that powers the Lexus RC F coupe - and propel the vessel to nearly 50mph The upper deck and hull are made from hand-laid carbon fibre, which Lexus also uses for its LFA supercar * The standing-height forward passenger cabin is finished in luxurious leather with wood and glass details* Lexus is best known for its luxury cars but its top engineers have been hard at work proving that they can build super speedboats as well as supercars. The manufacturer has unveiled a stunning sports yacht powered by two 5.0litre V8 engines based on the unit that powers the Lexus RC F coupe - that between them develop 885hp and propel the vessel to nearly 50mph. Sensational pictures reveal that the design is one of the most eye-catching around. The upper deck and outer hull are made from hand-laid carbon fibre, which Lexus also uses for its LFA supercar. It has all the gadgets you'd expect from Lexus, too. A bow-thruster with joystick control aids with docking. And the captain monitors and controls on-board systems from a touchscreen panel. Screens show GPS navigation, digital charts, surface radar, underwater sonar, lighting and entertainment systems. The captain's seat, meanwhile, is power-adjustable with armrests that fold out to become jump seats on either side. Two separate teams there were briefed to create an open sport yacht for recreational day sailing, accommodating six to eight people, powered by twin high-performance Lexus V8 engines, with advanced handling and styling. Their concepts were submitted for evaluation in summer 2015. 'This allowed us to explore how Lexus design language could be applied to a maritime idea,' said Yoshihiro Sawa, Lexus International Vice President. 'For the Lexus Design Centre this project has been very exciting. The effort is valuable to us as it stirs our creative energies and pushes our imagination to design and lifestyle possibilities outside of the automotive realm we know so well.' The selected proposal was refined throughout 2015, with the Marine Department engineering the construction and on-board marine systems. The concept, revealed on Thursday, is a bespoke, one-off project. There is no intention to put the yacht into production. Read more: From supercars to a super speedboat: Lexus unveils a stunning 885hp carbon-fibre sports yacht with twin V8 engines and power-adjustable seats | Daily Mail Online Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
That vessel is as functional & practical as a tanning salon business on the sun!!! Simple examples..."Where are the forward docking cleats or navigation lights. The stern rub rail is useless considering the forward beam is greater than the stern beam dimensions. The driver's seated position would cause the driver to have absolutely NO vision over the bow or directly ahead, especially considering bow rise angle ( running angle) Imagine how SLICK & UNSAFE that glass surface area covering the engines is with ANY type of moisture!!! The location of the engine compartment air intake scoops is directly facing FORWARD & in the path of spray & waves! With NO raised transom & a "Go Fast" vessel...can see this vessel being Extremely UNSAFE!!!! A quintessential example of "Form over Function"
I'll never understand why these companies do this. Why on earth would anyone run 50 mph in that thing when you can run 150 mph in this instead? An Outerlimits SV52 is 100% handlaid CF from the keel up, it has a full cabin with all the leather, fabrics, AV equipment you'll want, AC, a toilet, a wetbar and so forth. It seats 5 or 6 and sleeps 2 with stand up head room. All this with a race winning pedigree and the honor of being one of the best built, if not the best built brand in the world of powerboats. 50 mph? That's not even cruising speed in the modern world of big powerboating. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Not sure I follow some of your safety issues. What do you mean by "raised transom"? As for a smooth engine hatch? You just place some plush sunbathing mats there when doing that. Bare feet will provide a fair amount of grip on a surface like that. Other than that, anyone stepping directly on the boat surface with shoes or dirty socks, deserves to fall on their ass. It's difficult to see whether or not there's pop-up cleats there. My guess is there is. Can't see a big problem with the seating position and plenty of boats are narrower in the rear than the bow, and the rubrail here serves it's purpose fine in some situations. But basically, this is a business gimmick from Lexus - and purely aimed at people who know and like the Lexus brand, but have zero clue about powerboats.
For those who think the Outerlimits is too wild and want more amenities, there's always the Nor-Tech 80 Roadster which is still 70 mph capable. Image Unavailable, Please Login
How about Magnum? Is Katrin still building big boats? I know they got out of the 150mph+ boats a few years ago; more money in luxe than sheer speed....?
...Aston Martin has done the same thing [better, imho] but still silly unless you need the 'safety' of a name to toss around the cocktail party..... edit: actually better for these Aston & Lexus boats to be around; keeps potentially unsafe people away from the really fast hulls!
Haha true. I believe AMG did something similar about 15 years ago(not talking about the Merc powered Cig). Or maybe it was only AMG engines in a Scarab. Can't remember. I'd prefer if those who didn't know how to drive boats bought Sea Ray Sundancer models. Then they could run a safe slow boat.
Magnum is back and builds "fast" big diesel cruisers. They never had a 150 mph boat though - far from it as far as I know. The pleasure mono hulls that are doing those speeds only appeared within the last 5 years or so. Don't remember when Magnum when out of business back in the day and shut down powerboat production, but it was in the early to mid 90's. Back then 90 mph was huge. Back then the Magnums were pretty much the same kind of heavy sturdy resin buckets like Apache, Pantera and old Cigs. Not fast, but very good in the rough stuff. It wasn't until Reggie started doing his stuff that 100 mph vees became more "common". Even in the early 2000's 100 mph vee pleasure boats were rare.
Years ago Lexus made a pass at comp ski boats to compete with Mastercraft and Nautique. They lined up good dealers but they never sold many. I think the boat above is just ugly beyond compare looking a bit like a condom full of grey mud. That's a very crowded segment with the likes of Riva and so on.
Anything with about 2 foot waves and a bit of head wind work great to "un-stick" the hull. It's less "dramatic" than it seems in a big boat built for it. Looking at how fast some people drive in traffic, makes going 150 in a fast cat seem like the sensible thing to do. A v-bottom at 150 mph is more demanding, but still doable with the right "tools".
Lexus built ONE supercar, not supercarS That boat looks like a yawnathon. I don't want to be like the dude in the boat, dressed poorly w one so so looking wifey w him. Screw that
I think I'm seeing the designer's inspiration. . Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks like a shoe More I look at that guy more I feel sorry for him No Lexus boat for me. I'll take a 100ft yacht well stocked w booze & Bubbles