Blog | Another Auto Maker Enters the Luxury Motor Yacht Market

In 2016 we reported on the 46 feet long, Arrow 460 Granturismo, the first luxury yacht designed and built by Mercedes-Benz, and the AM37, which was built by Quintessence Yachts in conjunction with Aston Martin. Now, another high-profile name in luxury autos has thrown their hat into the motor yacht ring. Lexus has debuted its first sports yacht, and the sleek and sexy 42 footer owes a lot to its land-bound cousins.

In a company Press Release, Yoshihiro Sawa, executive vice president of Lexus International, said, “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 for lifestyle possibilities outside of the automotive realm we know well.”

The Lexus sports yacht was unveiled recently in Miami, and it certainly looks like it could have cruised right off the set of Miami Vice!

Other Features of the Lexus Sport Yacht

Borrowing from their automotive team, the design of the Lexus Sport Yacht concept has the upper deck and outer hull seamlessly bonded around the inner structure, with, “each piece a single massive hand-laid composite of two-part polyurethane epoxy resin reinforced with hand-laid woven carbon fiber cloth, a composite material called carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, or CFRP. CFRP is the technology used in the structure of racecars and supercars, as well as military and civilian aircraft. In the case of the Lexus Sports Yacht, it allows not only the unique look of her hull, but also for her to come in at nearly a ton lighter than fiberglass yachts of similar size, which increases speed and efficiency.

Of course, “under the hood,” she is powered by twin 5-litre V8 engines based on those found in the Lexus RC F coupe and the new LC 500, producing over 885hp in total for a top speed of 49mph (43 knots)!

On-board you will find a large color touchscreen on the dash as well as another on the steering wheel that provides all the essential information of GPS, surface radar and underwater sonar. The Lexus Sport Yacht is designed to accommodate eight passengers in luxury and style!

According to Lexus, at this point the Sports Yacht was built merely as a proof of concept with no immediate plans to be put into production. This single example was created in conjunction with Marquis Yachts, LLC, known for building Marquis Yachts and Carver Yachts.

However, Lexus’ parent company, Toyota, is no stranger to the boating world with its own maritime department launched back in 1997. Toyota Marine’s Ponam line has included fiberglass sport-fishing boats in 26- and 28-foot lengths, and luxury cabin- cruisers in 31-, 35-, 37- and 45-foot lengths, all built with the luxury amenities and design quality and engineering learned from Lexus.

Other Unique Luxury Motor Yachts

If you are an auto enthusiast that is as excited as we are about these collaborations between designers of fine automobiles and yacht builders, we would be happy to see if we could “put you behind the wheel” of one of these incredible new machines!

If a more traditional, but equally luxurious motor yacht is more your speed, we can certainly help you there as well. Feel free to contact us about any motor yacht in our new or pre-owned listings.

It’s not always easy to stay on top of what’s new in motor yachts. If you would like to benefit from our expertise in these areas, or if you have any questions or comments about this blog post, do not hesitate to contact our Sales Specialists, or call us at 954-900-9988.