[ad_1]
The latest Lexus flagship product is a true ship. The Lexus LY 650 is a 65-foot luxury yacht designed in conjunction with the marine division of Toyota's parent company. It builds on the previous 42-foot Lexus Sport Yacht concept, but unlike this boat, the LY 650 will be sold to its customers.
The styling elements of the Sport Yacht concept were applied to the 65-foot LY 650 model, as well as "L-Finesse" design language elements used on Lexus cars. Lexus did not discuss technical details, but Sport Yacht's original concept used a pair of V8 racing engines producing a combined 885 horsepower, giving it a top speed of 43 knots (49 mph) .
Lexus is one of many builders to apply its brand on a yacht. Aston Martin and Bugatti have worked together with boat builders to move from road to water, and Mercedes-Benz has a long-standing relationship with Cigarette Racing, which has resulted in a series of boats designed to benchmark passenger cars. German AMG performance. But Lexus has more credibility than most.
The Lexus Toyota parent has a large catalog of boats at the back. The Japanese automaker launched its Maritime Affairs Department in 1997 and currently sells sport fishing boats and cruise ships in its home country under the name of Ponam. Some of these boats use turbodiesel engines from Japanese versions of Lexus SUVs, including the GX 300d's 3.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and the LX 450d's 4.5-liter twin-turbo V8. The GX and LX are sold in the United States, but only with gasoline engines.
From 1998 to 2002, Toyota also sold to the United States the range of Epic fiberglass tournament wakeboard and wakeboard boats.
The company sees the LY 650 as its "flagship product", alongside the LS sedan, LC coupe and LX SUV of the current generation. But unlike these vehicles, Lexus will not build the LY 650 itself. The automaker will sign a contract with Marquis-Larson Boat Group, based in Wisconsin, for the construction of the yachts. Lexus expects the first LY 650 to be completed by the second half of 2019, with a first public launch scheduled later this year.
Source link
