news

Lexus Sport Yacht concept unveiled: Japanese brand floats a new idea with sexy boat

Japanese luxury car brand Lexus has floated a new idea of how it could expand its presence in the prestige segment, with the new Lexus Sport Yacht concept.


The new 12.7-metre long, 3.8m wide yacht revealed in Florida by Lexus chief branding officer Akio Toyoda (yes, the same Akio Toyoda that runs Toyota!) is said to "demonstrate how the luxury automotive brand could expand into new areas of lifestyle and recreation".

There's no Spindle Grille, but there is Lexus power – the company has fitted two 5.0-litre V8 engines borrowed from the engine production lines of the RC F, GS F and new LC500 coupe. Each of the engines has 330kW of power and the watercraft is said to have a top speed of 43 knots. To help make parking easier, there's a bow thruster with joystick control.

There's a big colour touchscreen panel at the helm, with different information screens for navigation, surface radar, underwater sonar and digital charts. That screen also controls lighting and entertainment systems onboard, and the sound system is a Mark Levinson unit with built-in 4G WiFi.

There's seating for up to eight people and even air conditioning, a fridge, stove and shower. And unlike other similar yachts, the Lexus one uses carbon-fibre reinforced plastic in its construction, which is the same stuff used in the Lexus LFA supercar. The brand claims it helps save up to 1000 kilograms compared to a similar sized premium yacht made of fibreglass.

"This concept for a Lexus Sport Yacht allowed us to explore how Lexus design language could be applied to a maritime idea," according to Yoshihiro Sawa, executive vice president of Lexus International. "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 well."

Toyota Marine will soon introduce Ponam premium yachts to its portfolio in Japan, so it makes sense that this is a concept for both arms of the Japanese company. But the company has made it clear that this bespoke creation is a "one-off project with no plan for production".


Podcast

Listen to the CarAdvice team discuss the Lexus yacht concept below, and catch more like this at caradvice.com/podcast.

MORE:Lexus Showroom
MORE:Lexus News
MORE:Lexus Reviews
MORE:Search Used Lexus Cars for Sale
MORE:Lexus Showroom
MORE:Lexus News
MORE:Lexus Reviews
MORE:Search Used Lexus Cars for Sale
Chat with us!







Chat with Agent