After testing the waters with a typically lavish-looking concept last year, Lexus is now set to dive into the world of luxury yachts. The production-ready LY 650 is described as a Lexus flagship vehicle, and follows other vessels cooked up by fellow luxury automakers keen to move into the world of wonderful watercraft.
Lexus lumps the LY 650 luxury yacht in with its LS sedan, LX SUV and LC coupé, labeling the boat its fourth flagship. The Lexus Sport Yacht Concept revealed in January 2017 provides the basis for the LY 650, with its 42-ft (12.8-m) length stretched out to 65 ft (20 m).
The production version was actually announced earlier in the year, though technical details were light on the ground. We now know the LY 650 will be powered by Volvo's IPS 1200 (standard) or IPS 1350 (optional) engine, with a fuel capacity of 1,000 gal (3,785 L).
Described as the first production maritime expression of Lexus L-finesse design language, the yacht boasts enough room to sleep six and entertain up to 15, with guests able to enjoy their time on the water from the open-air decking or the three luxury staterooms beneath. Renders reveal an elegant cabin fitted with a large flat screen tv, leather couch seating and mini-bar.
We've also learned that Lexus will be handing off the construction, sales and servicing of the LY 650 yacht to Marquis-Larson Boat Group, the same team that crafted the prototype of the original yacht concept. There's still no word on when the LY 650 will hit the water, though Lexus has previously said sales will begin in the second half of 2019.
Source: Lexus
Lexus (The Toyota label that means Luxury EXport for US) is the brand that poor people buy when they can't afford a real luxury vehicle. If they actually produced something better than the others, they might have a fighting chance of capturing sales to their target market.