Nine other times car makers have built boats

Well, who would have picked it? Ever since the Lexus LY650 super cruiser launched into the world, boatsales.com.au has been overwhelmed by readers’ interest in the luxury brand’s attempt to find its sea legs.

The sleek-looking, Australia-bound 20-metre superyacht takes many of the things that Lexus has learned making cars, and applies it to a sharp-looking, soft-edged form that will one day even make its way to Australia – with a little help from mainstream sibling Toyota.

The interest you’ve shown in the stunning Lexus had us thinking what other brands had strapped on the water wings in a bid to expand the ownership experience beyond where the road ends and the water starts.

Here is our pick of them.

Toyota Ponam-28V

The same Toyota marine division that helped Lexus create its vision of on-water opulence also created the Ponham-28V, a conservative-looking 2016 sports cruiser that tapped the mud-plugging Toyota LandCruiser’s outback-proven diesel donk as its power source.

In the Ponham, the LandCruiser engine was good for 256hp, or a bit less performance than a 200kW petrol-engined Toyota Aurion. What made this Yanmar-built boat special, though, is that it eschewed traditional fibreglass construction for a mix of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic and aluminium, trimming weight to around 3.6 tonnes in a boat stretching 30 feet (9.1 metres). It was only ever offered for sale in Japan, and featured the world’s first station-holding function that acts as a virtual anchor.

Arrow460-Granturismo

The team behind this mouthful of marketing speak has also dubbed it more simply as the Silver Arrow of the sea. Like the Lexus, this is a design study penned in Mercedes-Benz’s studios in conjunction with Silver Arrow Marine and expressed in the real world with the help of a professional boat-building yard.

The sleek boat can accommodate up to 10 passengers, with the windscreen and side windows lifting to bring the outside indoors. Measuring 14 metres and powered by a pair of Yanmar 6LY440 440hp (324kw) diesel engines, the concept boat is estimated to cruise at 28kt, and top out at 38kt.

Dynamique GTT 115

When it is not sitting around making the latest tweaks to the iconic shape of the 911, Porsche’s design team turns its thoughts to other, more interesting things. An example of this is the Dynamique GTT 115, a “masculine” 35.5m yacht for any one of the seven forward thinking buyers who could afford to own one.

It's infused with Porsche DNA such as, um, Targa-style mullions and car-inspired colours. Around the hydroplane-equipped stern, it’s said to mimic the Porsche Taycan, the German luxury sports car brand’s first battery-fuelled model. In a further nod to Taycan, this boat also has electric generators on board that can take over from the main engines to turn the counter-rotating, pod-mounted screws in almost total silence at speeds of up to 6kt. Cruising speed is a diesel Cayenne-like 19kt, and top speed is a steady, unPorsche-like 21kt.

Aston Martin AM37

In 2016, British brand Aston Martin announced it would leave dry land and enter the world of water. Like other brands with little to no boat building experience, it brought in an experienced third party, Quintessence Yachts, to make the dream a reality.

Looking a little Dutch clog-like if we’re going to be bitterly honest, at least the AM37 has Aston Martin-like performance when tapped, topping out at an impressive 44kt for the boggo twin-engined Mercury 430hp petrol or 370hp diesel versions, and 50kt for the AM37 S, a twin 520hp Mercury petrol-engined range topper. A bimini retracts convertible-style into the aft deck, and a swim deck pops out of the rear like a bee’s stinger. Like its performance cars, the AM37 uses carbon-fibre reinforced plastic to cut weight without losing strength.

Riva Ferrari 32

Italian boat builder Riva worked with the legendary Enzo Ferrari to create this twin 390hp Volcano-engined performance speedboat. Capable of around 55kt, and with on-board accommodation built into the bow, only 40 of the 9.95-metre, 1990s-era Rosso Corsa hulls, complete with their overhead carbon-fibre spoiler, were built.

Sacs Lancia di Lancia

European rigid inflatable boat maker SACS has done a few collaborations with car makers, including an all-white Jaguar RIB, and one wearing an Abarth badge, but the one that stands out the most is the collaboration it did with iconic Italian brand Lancia. The “Lancia di Lancia” aped a swept, svelte metropolitan saloon featuring a gloss black finish interrupted by traditional Martini Racing stripes. An aft sun deck and swim platform, a retracting windscreen and roof, and an inboard 1120hp Fiat Powertrain engine make it look as stunning at speed as it does tied up to the dock.

Bugatti Niniette 66

The highly unattainable French brand Bugatti celebrated the 2016 release of its rather bonkers $4 million W16-engined Chiron sports coupe with an equally bonkers, $5 million watercraft called the Bugatti Niniette 66. The 20-metre 66 features an on-board jacuzzi, a fire pit, and a MAN V8-powered 44-knot top speed. The sponson-rigged, carbon composite boat, which sleeps only two people and one servant-slash-crew, is built for Bugatti by Monaco-based Palmer Johnson, a sports yacht maker that will build you a highly customised floating hotel up to 64m in length.

HSV Malibu Response R8

The Aussie boat building arm of ski boat specialist Malibu once teamed up with Holden Special Vehicles to create a Chevrolet-sourced 5.7-litre LS1 V8-engined boat that colour-matched the HSV-badged car towing it.

Jump on board, and there were more HSV familiar clues, including seats, dash and steering wheel that appeared to be lifted straight out of the road-going version. The bespoke boat was originally developed as a showpiece for the 2010 Sydney International Motor Show, with even the trailer's wheels and brakes mimicking those on the LS1-powered car that would tow it.

And there’s one we’d rather forget …

Sacs Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari

The “love me tender” jokes flew thick and fast after SACS followed up its triple-rig RIB with a stumpy carbon-fibre-look centre console tender finished in traditional Rosso Corsa-tinted pontoons. Powered by an inboard impeller, SACS promoted the tender as “perfect for quick transfers from boat to land. It is the solution for large boat owners who demand a sporty style also for short trips”.

Only 199 of the tenders were sold, and were made available in less racy colours for skippers with little affection to the Scuderia. Each one also came with a SACS Mare Abarth handbag crafted by Naples-based leather accessory maker Tramontano.