Lexus announces ultra-luxury sports yacht

Lexus has announced it plans to produce a premium yacht building on the success of the Lexus Sport Yacht concept.

Toyota Motor Corporation’s premium brand plans to start selling a 65-foot ultra-luxury yacht in the US in the second half of next year.

"We've decided to take the next bold step of producing an all-new larger yacht that builds on the advanced nature of the concept while adding more comfort and living space," Executive Vice President Shigeki Tomoyama said at a boat show last week in Yokohama, Japan.

While the concept was 42-feet long, the production version is planned as a larger 65-foot sport fly-bridge cruiser with luxury staterooms below deck and entertaining space, a statement from Lexus said.

The vessel will have room for 15 guests, three bedrooms with their own washrooms, plus separate quarters for crew.

Tomoyama did not reveal the boat’s price, but said it will be comparable to others in its class.

“Improving the quality of the cars themselves is important, but we also need to present car owners with a dream-like vision of the luxury lifestyle,” Tomoyama said at last week’s boat show. “A yacht is a very effective part of that.”

Lexus hasn’t unveiled its yacht design yet, but Tomoyama said most of the details have been worked out and it’s now in the production planning stage.

However, an early sketch the executive revealed at a Tokyo event last May may provide clue to what the yacht may look like.

The new boat will be engineered by Toyota Marine, a business that’s been around since 1990, and manufactured by the Marquis-Carver Yacht Group in Pulaski, Wisconsin.

But whereas the smaller vessel was made entirely of a carbon-fiber composite, the 65-footer will be made with a mix of materials that lowers costs.

Lexus isn’t the only carmaker venturing into the boat business.

Mercedes in 2016 started selling its own limited-edition yacht and BMW has been playing with concept crafts since at least 2011 -- but the Japanese luxury brand is the only one that’s committed to mass production.