Pininfarina-designed speedboats launch in Miami
With LA, Detroit and Chicago now behind us and the shows in Geneva and New York coming up, it seems like a good time to take a swing on down to Florida, where the Miami International Boat Show opens today. The show is a great spectacle for anyone with even a little saltwater mixed in with the octane in their blood – I went a couple of times as a kid – but what brings our attention to Miami this time is a pair of Pininfarina-designed speed boats being (literally) launched at the show.
Although both of these wave-skimming missiles are designed by the famous Italian house of style, built by American shipyards, and derived from offshore racing, the huge difference in size sets them far apart. The Challeger PF 36 Limited Edition (above), as its designation implies, measures 36' bow to stern. It's powered by a pair of supercharged 8.2-liter racing V8s producing 662 horsepower... each. That's enough to push the fully-loaded Challenger PF 36 to a top speed in excess of 95 mph.
The new Magnum 80' (right) is another story altogether. Built by the Miami-based company founded by legendary speedboat creator Don Aronow, the latest Magnum yacht to be designed by Pininfarina measures over twice as long as the Challenger. Fortunately, although a number of engine options are available, the show model has nearly four times as much power as the Challenger: twin turbodiesels pushing a staggering 2400hp apiece through Arneson surface drives, propelling this four-bedroom rocket to 60 mph.
We'll gladly take one of each for those rare opportunities to leave the traffic behind and get out speed on in sublime Italian style. Check out the images in the gallery below.
[Source: Italiaspeed]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
psijas73 3:10PM (2/14/2008)
Things of beauty
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meshies 3:18PM (2/14/2008)
especially the challenger
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Andrew 3:19PM (2/14/2008)
Pft, looks like junk compared to the Wally 118.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMIF2GrdL28
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Andrew 3:20PM (2/14/2008)
PS: Yes, that's a Kevlar hull.
Andrew 8:09AM (2/17/2008)
The Wally 118 is a huge mega yacht - these are speedboats - two totally diffrent things.
its like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Ferrari
Strictly from a design perspective I can see where your comping from - these Pininfarina speedboats are way too reserved and dare I say boring - the Wally definitely has a massive impact when you see it in person - when you're paying that much cash you definitely want the Holy Shit reaction when people see it, why else would you pay extra for design?
Andrew 3:35PM (2/14/2008)
P.P.S. Here's a better video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ8021UtKAw&feature=related
madgamer 3:50PM (2/14/2008)
While I agree, this also probably only costs like 1/5th of what the wally does.
Andrew 12:13PM (2/17/2008)
Something tells me the Wally out-performs those "speedboats".
rar 3:44PM (2/14/2008)
If you want to go fast on the water with style, there realy is only two boats, Fountian and Outerlimits. Both have held and or are holding the top speed record for v bottom boats.
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3seriesisking 4:02PM (2/14/2008)
Absolutely Gorgeous
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Guenther 4:09PM (2/14/2008)
As much as I love all things beautiful from Italy, here's some perspective- A WOT RIP with that Magnum will get you about .25-.3 mpg (using some numbers from MTU) But if you've gotta have the best to roll around Palm Island, this might be the ticket.
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Corey 4:23PM (2/14/2008)
The 80 isn't new.... first launched in 2001.
http://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boattests/0601magnum80/
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Eric Biran 4:23PM (2/14/2008)
I always thought if they did a boat, it should be called "The Pinin-Marina." But maybe that moniker should be reserved for a Ferrari powered number.
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MajorGeek 4:30PM (2/14/2008)
Beautiful boats. Ill stick to my 2 jet skis. Go all day long on a tank of gas (14 gallons) almost no maintanence, over 70 mph and a good stable ride on most lakes, and EVERYONE gets to drive. Of course it snows and is cold here so late October to mid April it is impossible to go boating, so owning a boat for a 4 month season seems a waste here.
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john riley 5:11PM (2/14/2008)
I recently saw the Porsche design Fearless 28 in the Miami Beach Marina.
http://www.fearlessyachts.com/index_flash.php
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Yar 5:27PM (2/14/2008)
Arneson drives are the wrong kind for that type of boat (the 80 footer), there isn't enough weight in the rear to get the drives in the water properly. Without a stepped hull, this thing is going to take forever to get to plane and top speed is going to be affected in medium-high seas. Sure is pretty though, but for an 80 footer I'd rather go with a Sunseeker Predator, Pershing, or a Baia Atlantica.
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Mr. Blake 7:14PM (2/14/2008)
Gorgeous.
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DIRETTORE 7:43PM (2/14/2008)
* If anyone finds themselves in Europe in September, make certain you attend these 2!
http://www.nyhabitat.com/blog/2007/08/06/2007-french-riviera-boat-shows-cannes-and-monaco/
http://www.salonnautiquecannes.com/
http://www.monacoyachtshow.com/index.shtml
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almost Dr. G.. 6:53AM (2/15/2008)
ill wait for the hybrid. thanks.
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Bill Prince 8:05AM (2/15/2008)
The Magnum 80 is not a new boat. It was designed eight years ago by Michael Peters Yacht Design in Sarasota, FL to a concept drawing by someone at Pininfarina.
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