260 Roadster: Two Good Builders, Same Great Boat
With either a Sonic or Spectre nameplate, the 260 Roadster remains a versatile and affordable center-console performer.
A friend of mine in the go-fast powerboat world is a huge fan of Sunsation Performance Boats, which arguably is the strongest player in the semi-custom V-bottom market. If you gave him a more expensive, totally custom Cigarette or Outerlimits V-bottom he would thank you, then sell it and buy two Sunsations. He’s that loyal to the brand.
He’s also not unusual in his dedication to a specific manufacturer. In fact, that kind of devotion to brand is downright common in the high-performance boat world. If you don’t believe me, put a diehard Fountain fan at the same table with a diehard Cigarette fan and buy them a few rounds. Even though the two brands have little in common other than being V-bottoms, the argument that ensues over which is better will be impressive. Maybe even ugly.
Available from Spectre or Sonic, the 260 Roadster is one of Frisni Motorsports hottest and most versatile models.
So how does a company with one particularly popular model and two distinctly different brand-name builders bridge the loyalty gap? Simple—have both builders offer the same boat under their own brands.
Known as “re-badging” in the automobile world, that’s the solution Frisini Motosports has adopted with the 260 Roadster. The boat started life as a Spectre design before Frisini purchased Spectre in early 2010. Spectre primarily builds high-performance catamarans; the V-bottom 260 Roadster and its two larger siblings are notable exceptions.
Then, later in the year, Frisini bought Sonic, a V-bottom builder with its own loyal customer base.
It didn’t take long for people at Frisini to recognize that they had a winner in the 260 Roadster, which is one of Spectre’s hottest sellers. It also didn’t take them long to realize that Sonic fans would embrace it as well—if it were a Sonic.
“The big thing in this industry is that customers are very brand-loyal,” says John Cunningham, who co-owns Frisini Motorsports with Tony Frisina. “There are Sonic customers who are truly Sonic customers and Spectre customers who are truly Spectre customers.”
A color-matched steering wheel, gauges and controls are standard on the 260 Roadster.
Cunningham and Frisina knew that a 260 Roadster built at Spectre’s facility in Pinellas Park, Fla. with a Sonic name slapped on its hull wouldn’t fly with the Sonic faithful, so they created another set of tooling for the model and brought it to Sonic in Fort Pierce.
Today, the Spectre 260 Roadster is built at Spectre, the Sonic 260 Roadster is built at Sonic, and all is right with the world.
Having tested the 260 Roadster in late 2009 with Powerboat magazine, I can say that the 26-footer is a solid, versatile and well-priced offering. With a top speed, depending on power, in the mid-50- to 60-mph range, it’s far from a go-fast hot rod. Then again, for the average owner who likes to fish or dive—pursuits I happen to enjoy—a top speed of 55 mph is fast enough. And in mild to moderate sea conditions, the 260 Roadster offers a soft ride in rough water and steady, predictable handling.
True to its performance-boat roots as a Spectre product, the 260 Roadster boasts on an offshore-style leaning post.
Prices for the 260 Roadster range from $66,530 with a MerCruiser 377 Mag stern-drive engine to $77,135 with a 300-hp Verado outboard engine. That puts it squarely in the “reasonable” category when it comes to pricing next to comparable models.
The boat is built with a self-bailing molded cockpit liner. Standard features include a comfortable leaning post at the helm station augmented by a molded dual-level footrest, and custom-embossed upholstery with a color-matched steering wheel, throttle-and-shifter unit, and gauges. Hardware includes five retractable stainless steel cleats, stainless steel bow and stern eyes, and stainless steel handrails. The retractable cleats are a big plus for fishing.
Seating in the 260 Roadster includes a U-shaped lounge in the bow and a bench ahead of the center console.
So which 260 Roadster would I buy, the Sonic or the Spectre? OK, I have to be honest here and say I don’t care. I’ve known Jay Pillini, the founder of Spectre, for 15 years and consider him a friend—and I still don’t care. For me, it’s all about the boat, and I’d be happy to own a 260 Roadster under either the Spectre or Sonic banner. Both are proven boatbuilders.
But for those who do care, those who are loyal to either the Sonic or Spectre brand, now there’s a choice.
For more information, visit Frisini.
Bi-weekly columnist Matt Trulio is the editor at large for Powerboat magazine. He has written for the magazine since 1994. Trulio’s daily blog can be found on speedonthewater.com, a site he created and maintains, which is the high-performance arm of the BoaterMouth group.
