While yachts can be timeless icons of style, personal watercraft have always been designed largely or even solely with performance in mind. Now both features come together in the Strand Craft V8 Daytona GT, the jet ski that combines style and beastly performance.
Developed by Florida-based Norwegian superyacht designer Kurt Strand, the concept is the result of more than five years of “development and meticulous testing.” The designer also states that the new jet ski is the industry’s first V8 engine-powered watercraft.
Although it has the sleek silhouette of a sports coupé, the Daytona is nothing short of imposing. The watercraft is 5.08 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 1.33 meters high. It weighs 567 kg and has a 22-gallon (83-liter) fuel tank. Like an American muscle car, it is equipped with a supercharged 6.2-liter aluminum V8 engine, making it substantially powerful than any jet ski that comes to mind, though Strand Craft hasn’t specified a top speed.
The cabin is fitted with a large 15-inch touchscreen where you can see all the information relating to the engine, as well as a premium sound system that can blast the requisite cruising tunes and a cooler box under the seat where you can store refreshments.
To make this Strand Craft V8 Daytona GT even more unique, the customers can choose carbon fiber for the hull, wood inserts, a custom trailer, an underwater camera, GPS Navigator, and shock-absorbing seats. Before Daytona, in June this year, Kurt Strand unveiled a design for a 525-foot (160-meter) solar panel-powered superyacht called “Florida” that comes with some advanced futuristic sailing technology.
“Beautiful, powerful, and luxurious. These three adjectives inspired my design for a new watercraft concept,” Kurt Strand writes on the website. “I wanted to create a model that marries power and speed to the grace and elegance of Strand Craft’s design heritage.”
The company hasn’t listed a price for the Strand Craft V8 Daytona GT; however, with the phrase ‘you dream it, we build it,’ we can assume that the price will be dependent on the customization that the customer wants.
