Two years ago, Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda – who is also the chief branding officer for Lexus International – authorised a very special vessel. The boat he asked his designers and partners at Marquis Yachts to build was supposed to promote the ‘Lexus lifestyle’.
It also needed to be streamlined, fast, and stunning to look at. This month the finished yacht was unveiled and serves as another excellent example of why automakers should seriously consider venturing out into the waves.
The Lexus concept Sports Yacht has twin V-8 gasoline engines that produce a total of 950-horsepower that gives it a top speed of 43-knots (or almost 80-kilometres per hour). The engine is based on the same one that powers Lexus’ new LC 500 coupe. There’s also a ‘turbo-boost’ button at the helm, which adds 1,000rpm to the rev limiter for a sudden burst of speed.
The Sports Yacht concept is made entirely out of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, which makes it almost one tonne lighter than traditional yachts of similar size. There’s also a 7-inch touchscreen panel adjacent to the helm’s instruments, giving the captain control over the boat’s navigational and entertainment systems.
According to Josh Delforge, speaking at the launch of the Sports Yacht in Miami, “No boat of this size has ever had anything resembling the complexity of this yacht. Its touchscreen everything, so all systems can be controlled by an iPad. You’d find this same type of system on a customer superyacht”.
The Sports Yacht takes more than a few design cues from the brand’s LFA Supercar. According to Yoshira Yoshihiro Sawa, head of design at Lexus, the way the exterior lines run seamlessly from stern to bow comes straight from the LFA, “The lines of the boat are never interrupted, they just flow from one end to the other”.
The seats lining the sides of the cockpit can accommodate up to eight passengers and are shaped like a series of wave tops. The form allows the guests to face each other, but can change orientation at the push of a button – so when the boat is moving guests can turn and face forward. The interior features panelling and upholstery made in Italy and then shipped to Wisconsin where the boat was assembled.
Lexus isn’t the first car manufacturer to get into the boat-building game. Last year saw the introduction of Aston Martin’s AM37 super boat concept, as well as Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow of the Seas.