After floating the idea of a luxury seafaring vehicle last year with its Sport Yacht concept, Lexus has now announced plans to move ahead with production. Promised to be bigger and better, the production version will offer extra entertaining space and be up for order next year.
The Lexus Sport Yacht concept was unveiled in January last year, and the one-of-a-kind proof of concept put the automaker's design language to use in a 42-ft (12.7-m) long luxury vessel.
Powered by marine versions of five-liter V8 gasoline engines in the Lexus RC F coupe and LC 500 grand tourer, the concept featured a hull, inner structure and superstructure made from hand-laid carbon-fiber fabric, vacuum-infused with two-part polyurethane resin. Lexus says this composite enabled it to trim 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) off the vessel's weight when compared to glass fiber hulls.
The production version sees the yacht's length stretched out to 65 feet (20 m), with enough entertainment space for 15 guests and luxury staterooms hidden away below deck. It will feature connected services for things like security, smartphone integration and remote diagnostics.
Further technical details will be announced down the track, with sales to kick off in the second half of next year.
Source: Lexus
Update: An original version of this article stated that the Lexus Sports Yacht would be available for order in the second half of 2018, rather than 2019. New Atlas apologizes for the error.
