When premium automakers enter a niche market, it means extravagance. Mercedes, Porsche and Co. have each developed luxury yachts and brought them onto the market. The boats can all be purchased in limited quantities for many millions of euros.
“Silver Arrow of the Seas”
Car manufacturers build cars and yacht builders build yachts, but what kind of product is created when a car manufacturer develops a luxury yacht? The engineers at Mercedes, Porsche, Aston Martin and Bugatti probably also asked themselves this question, because these manufacturers have already developed their own luxury boats and launched them on the water.
Back in 2016, Mercedes presented the “Silver Arrow of the Seas,” as Daimler’s marketing team labeled the project. The actual model name for the yacht was a little less spectacular: Arrow460-Granturismo.
The development team set itself the task of adapting the dimensions and proportions of the yacht to those of a road car as best as possible, with the 960 hp engine being significantly more powerful than the actual Mercedes road cars. Monaco-based shipbuilder Silver Arrows Marine was commissioned to build the 2.7 million euro luxury yacht.
Marketing is the priority
But for the car manufacturers, the yachts probably do not serve as a new and profitable line of business, but rather as an advertising measure. Expert Stefan Bratzel comments on the car manufacturers’ projects in an interview with Handelsblatt as follows: “Given the small number of units, the effort is high and hardly pays off. The sports boats are more of a marketing idea.”
In addition, the car manufacturers do not have the necessary capacity or know-how to be able to produce the yachts independently, which is why cooperation with established boat builders is unavoidable.
The aim of the car manufacturers is to enhance their brand through the yachts. “The products must be exclusive and belong to the luxury and high-end range. Only then will the sports boat product reflect on the vehicle brand,” explains Bratzel.
Accordingly, these niche projects are by no means worthwhile for every manufacturer; only premium manufacturers authentically represent the luxury sports yacht market. Hardly any consumer would associate the term luxury with a brand such as Hyundai.
Projects worth millions
But for car manufacturers like Aston Martin, the AM37 sports boat designed together with Quintessence Yachts can represent a worthwhile image push. The 11.10 meter long boat reflects the car manufacturer’s identity and manifests Aston Martin as a luxury brand.
The same applies to the 20-meter yacht Niniette 66 from Bugatti, which is limited to 66 pieces and was built in cooperation with the Palmer Johnson shipyard. But Lexus is also stalking the market for luxury yachts. The car manufacturer wants to produce five to six boats in collaboration with Marquis Yachts. The 20 meter long LY 650 is equipped with 2,700 hp and costs between 3.3 and 4.3 million euros.
Only Porsche goes one better with the 35 meter long yacht Gran Turismo Transatlantic 115. The luxury boat, developed jointly with Dynamiq, can be purchased for 12.5 million euros.
Henry Ely / editorial team finanzen.net
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