Miami Boat Show Wrap-Up, Part II: Top Four Go-Fast Boat Stunners
Two catamarans and two V-bottoms stole the show.
March 1, 2015
In my earlier wrap-up from the 2015 Miami International Boat Show I presented three jaw-dropping engines—the Mercury Racing 1550 stern drive, the Seven Marine 627 outboard, and the Mercury Racing 400R Verado outboard. No doubt, once these powerplants start shipping en masse, so to speak, they will make impressions on any number of go-fast catamarans and V-bottoms.
The only boat in the show to be powered by Mercury Racing 1550 engines, the twin-engine 50-footer is the fastest model in the Cigarette line-up. Photo courtesy Cigarette Racing Team.
That said, there were four go-fast rides—a couple of catamarans and two V-bottoms—that stole the show on the go-fast boat side. And you can count on all of them to cut impressive swaths at various events from poker runs to raft-ups throughout the 2015 boating season and beyond.
Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S Concept V-Bottom
For the past five years, a boat-and-car collaboration between Cigarette Racing Team and Mercedes-AMG has been among the top draws of the Miami Show. This year was no exception—in fact it was exceptional—as the two luxury lifestyle product manufacturers teamed up to release the all-new 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S sportscar and the Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S Concept V-bottom in the Cigarette exhibit.
The only boat in the show to be powered by Mercury Racing 1550 engines (read Miami Boat Show, Part I), the twin-engine 50-footer is the fastest model in the Cigarette line-up. Skip Braver, the Opa-Locka, Fla., sportboat and performance center-console company’s chief executive officer, estimated it will run 135 mph.
The 50 Marauder GT S Concept sportboat incorporates a number of "signature AMG elements." Its interior is black and Solarbeam yellow—a proprietary AMG hue and paint—with marine-grade black Alcantara accents. The 50-footer's exterior graphics feature a gloss-black gelcoat hull with an AMG logo in Solarbeam and matte black accents. In typical Cigarette fashion, the boat features state-of-the-art electronic technology including Bluetooth, the latest-generation Garmin GPS, computerized controls, four high-definition displays, and a sound-bending audio system.
No slouch itself, the Mercedes-AMG GT S sportscar is powered by an all-aluminum 503-hp 4.0-litre "biturbo" engine that develops 479 foot-pounds of torque and reportedly propels the car from zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. The car won’t be launched “officially” in the automobile world until April, so visitors to the Miami show got a sneak peek.
Douglas Marine/Skater 388 Pure Platinum Catamaran
Did the next generation Pure Platinum Skater 388 catamaran commissioned by noted high-performance powerboat owner and multi-time Skater cat buyer Bill Pyburn live up to its pre-show hype? Given that it’s on this short list, you have my answer.
Yes, it is “another” Skater 388 catamaran, but with Pyburn’s input Skater principal Peter Hledin took “custom” to a whole new level with this one. From its twin 1,800-plus-hp aluminum engines from Goodwin Competition, which run on pump gas, to its one-of-a-kind, custom-fabricated throttles and shifters from Hardin Marine, the 38-footer was pure eye-candy.
Said owner Bill Pyburn of his new Pure Platinum Skater 388 catamaran, “"I'm excited the boat's here—it took a lot of work to get it here. I'll be more excited when I get to drive it, though.” Photo by Jason Johnson.
The owner, however, won’t be completely satisfied until he gets the cat on the water.
"I'm excited the boat's here—it took a lot of work to get it here," said Pyburn. "I'll be more excited when I get to drive it, though. The whole 'show thing' isn't really for me. It's more for Peter (Hledin), Todd (Goodwin), and all of the other talented people involved in this project."
Mystic Powerboats C4400 Catamaran and M3900 Center Console
That two new show-stopping performance boats in the 2015 Miami Boat Show came from one manufacturer is almost as impressive as Mystic Powerboats’ C4400 catamaran and M3900 luxury performance V-bottom themselves. What’s more, when the show opened its doors Mystic officially tripled the offerings in its model line when the models debuted.
Mystic introduced a pair of show-stoppers—the C4400 catamaran and M3900 center console—in Miami. Photo by Jay Nichols/Naples Image.
The 44-foot cat and 39-foot stepped hull V-bottom join Mystic’s vaunted 50-footer, currently the fastest catamaran in the world with the 50’ Mystic My Way’s 244-mph run during last year’s Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Central Missouri. With a pair of 1,100-hp engines, the cat topped 130 mph in its first sea trial. With quad 300-hp Verados, the 39-foot center console is a solid 80-mph boat with a massive cabin, a deep cockpit, and a spectacular hardtop.
While the catamaran project has been in the works for several years, the center-console was born just a year ago at the 2014 Miami International Boat Show when Mystic’s John Cosker and Scott Sjogren, the owner of Pier 57 Marine, a new and pre-owned performance-boat dealership and service center in Gurnee, Ill., sat down and discussed features they’d like to see in a center-console. By the time they left the show, Cosker and Sjogren had formed a partnership (Pier 57 became Mystic’s global dealer later in the year) and set an ambitious release date for both models for the opening day of the 2015 Miami event.
As you can see from the photo, they made it, but not without working until the last minute in Mystic’s facility in DeLand, Fla., and even in the company’s exhibit on the eve before the show. As you can also see from the photo, the results were spectacular.
