Skip to main content

Hit the high seas in style with Lexus’ upcoming LY 650 luxury yacht

Lexus’ latest flagship is an actual ship. The Lexus LY 650 is a 65-foot luxury yacht designed in concert with parent company Toyota’s marine division. It builds on the previous 42-foot Lexus Sport Yacht concept, but unlike that boat, the LY 650 will be sold to customers.

Recommended Videos

Styling cues from the Sport Yacht concept were applied to the upsized, 65-foot LY 650, along with elements of the “L-Finesse” design language used on Lexus’ cars. Lexus did not discuss any technical details, but the original Sport Yacht concept used a pair of V8 racing engines producing a combined 885 horsepower, giving it a top speed of 43 knots (49 mph).

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Lexus is just one of many automakers to apply its branding to a yacht. Aston Martin and Bugatti have collaborated with boat builders in order to make the transition from road to water, and Mercedes-Benz has a long-standing relationship with Cigarette Racing that has led to a series of boats styled to reference the German automaker’s AMG performance cars. But Lexus has more yachting credibility than most.

Lexus parent Toyota has a substantial back catalog of boats. The Japanese automaker launched its Marine Business Department in 1997, and currently sells sport fishing boats and cabin cruisers in its home country under the Ponam name. Some of these boats use turbodiesel engines from Japanese-market versions of Lexus SUVs, including the 3.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from the GX 300d and the 4.5-liter twin-turbo V8 from the LX 450d. The GX and LX are sold in in the U.S., but with gasoline engines only.

From 1998 to 2002, Toyota also sold the Epic line of fiberglass tournament ski boats and wakeboard boats in the U.S. These vessels used the 4.0-liter gasoline V8 from the Lexus LS 400 luxury sedan.

The company views the LY 650 as its “fourth flagship,” alongside the current-generation LS sedan, LC coupe, and LX SUV. But unlike those vehicles, Lexus won’t build the LY 650 itself. The automaker will contract with Wisconsin-based Marquis-Larson Boat Group for construction of the yachts. Lexus expects the first LY 650 to be finished by the second half of 2019, with a public debut scheduled for sometime later that year.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more
Bose wants to dominate car audio, and I heard its next-gen 3D automotive speakers
Bose logo on a speaker grille

Bose’s automotive audio business is huge, and it’s set to get even bigger. The company has been making big plays in car audio for some time now. The audio company works with premium brands like Porsche, building high-end speakers that allow drivers to experience high-quality audio on the road, whether they’re carting the family around in an Escalade or weaving around the highway (don’t do that) in a Porsche Macan.

But while it has a solid selection of audio brands under its belt, the world of personal audio is also evolving. Mercedes-Benz showed off its Dolby Atmos system at CES last year, and now, a year later, plenty of other brands are joining the trend. At CES 2025, Bose walked me through its current lineup of automotive audio products, as well as a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Immersive audio
The big trend in all areas of personal audio right now essentially boils down to supporting 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos. Consumer home theater products are increasingly offering up-firing and side-firing speakers that can bounce audio around the room to simulate height and surround effects, while headphone brands are increasingly developing spatialized audio tech that can convert stereo audio into simulated spatial audio.

Read more