A concept inspired by Toyota’s chief Akio Toyoda, Lexus has taken the wraps of a luxury sport yacht concept. Making its debut at Di Lido Island on Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach, the Lexus yacht is one of a kind concept that uses similar design language to the marque’s land-lubber vehicles powered by two Lexus V8 engines.
Built by the Marquis-Carver Yacht Group of Pulaski, Wisconsin, the concept is one of those yachts that takes a cliche, embraces it and redefines it. Saying that a high-powered luxury day yacht is like a "knife" was old by the time the first one ever hit the water, but the 42-ft (12.7-m) long, 13-ft (3.86-m) abeam Lexus Sports Yacht Concept is not only knife-like, it looks like a giant version of a high-end skinning knife that means business.
Styling is streamlined like a ‘knife’. Inside the streamlined, stepped-planning hull are twin marine version five-liter V8 gasoline engines derived from the 2UR-GSE used in the Lexus RC F coupe, the GS F sport sedan, and the LC 500 grand tourer. Together, they punch 885 bhp which allows the concept to top out at 43kts.
Lexus likes to emphasize the Sport Yacht Concept's construction, which is based on a deck unit and hull made of a hand-laid composite of two-part polyurethane epoxy resin reinforced with hand-laid woven carbon fiber cloth bonded together into a single structure around the inner frame. According to the company, this Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) is the same used in race cars and supercars like the Lexus LFA, as well as high-performance military and civilian aircraft. By using this composite, the designers were able to trim a cool 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) off the weight when compared to glass fiber hulls.
