V8-engined Strand Craft V8 Daytona GT jet ski hits the water
Strand Craft redefines the luxury jet ski with a thumping supercharged bent eight at its heartA US custom jet ski maker has answered the question that few riders have ever asked: Can I squeeze a thumping V8 into the hull?
Florida-based Strand Craft has amped up the personal watercraft by giving it a classy retro look including side-exit exhausts and, at its heart, a lightweight alloy supercharged 6.2-litre LSA V8 originally developed for GM’s high-performance sports cars.
However, Strand Craft does not yet appear to have built one of the V8 Daytona GTs and tested it, despite five years of development work.
The specifications list is surprisingly brief when it comes down to details such as how much performance it can generate (on the road the bent eight could turn out up to 580hp) and the wide-open throttle top speed it is likely to hit.
Strand Craft’s vision of this hi-po V8-engined beast is that while other jet skis are made to look as though they want to go fast, the V8 Daytona GT is meant to go fast, but stay classy; that goes some way to explaining the 1930s-era roadster looks it sports.
At 5.1 metres it’s long, and its 1.3-metre beam makes it quite narrow and bullet-like in profile. It needs to be big because all up it weighs around 570kg – that’s about the same weight as an equivalently sized trailer boat.
Standard equipment on the Strand Craft V8 Daytona GT includes custom two-tone paint, a storage box, an under-seat icebox for keeping drinks and sandwiches cool, and a premium audio system.
In front of the rider is a large 15-inch LED dashboard that monitors the LSA V8 engine and controls the audio system.
Anyone wanting to individualise their ride can pick from a skinny list of options that include a custom-built trailer, carbonfibre inserts, a gold or sliver 3D wrap, teak inserts, a shock absorber seat, an underwater camera, and even a diesel V8 engine to swap out the petrol LSA.
No pricing has been disclosed.
The idea of giving a jet ski a thumping V8 isn’t a new one, with numerous backyard attempts to covert a mainstream personal watercraft into a firebreathing straight-line speed demon.
What the Strand Craft V8 Daytona GT does is bring the concept into series production for the first time.
Model:
Length: 5.08m
Width: 1.5m
Height: 1.3m
Weight: 567kg
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Fuel tank: 80L
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