Our Reviews Director has had an action-packed year to say the least, testing everything from 4,000hp supercars of the sea to wave-hunting with awesome adventure boats. Now, with the year nearly at an end, Jack gives an inside scoop of what it was really like behind the helm of some of 2024's best offerings.
Tecnomar Lamborghini 63
The hype was high for this one. Not only is the Tecnomar Lamborghini 63 one of the most recognisable sportsboats on the water, with more social media coverage than any new model of the last few years, but it took us a long time to make the test happen. The headline is simple: 4,000hp and a claimed top speed of 63 knots.
We tested the boat in the South of France and a placid morning gave way to a sizeable afternoon swell, not ideal conditions to try and crack that top speed. I’ve seen complaints that the boat doesn’t have Lamborghini engines but the simple truth is that there isn’t a Lamborghini engine in existence that has the power, or more importantly, the torque to get this boat to perform in the way intended. So Tecnomar went with a pair of 2,000hp MAN V12s and surface drives, which definitely do the trick.
Sitting at the helm is an experience like no other. Firstly, you’re holding a Lamborghini steering wheel and gazing over a dashboard that faithfully apes Lambo’s road cars. The figure-hugging racing seat, emblazoned with the raging bull, holds you tight and secure, and there’s always the knowledge that the stubby little throttles are a gateway to unleashing 4,000hp. But you have to work for it. Feed in the power gently, let the revs creep to 800rpm then dial in some steering lock to improve the water flow over the rudders. The revs jump up and now speed is building rapidly and the V12s are in their stride, rooster tail rising at about the same rate as my heartbeat. It’s visceral, physical progress as the speed increases but before you know it you’re running at 40 knots and lifting the trim tabs in preparation for the final push to maximum speed.
Sadly, the conditions on the day weren’t suitable for us to max out the big Lambo, but 40 knots through the swell was enough to get the adrenaline coursing. There is no nanny to help you drive this thing, it’s analogue and old school, just as a Lamborghini should be. It’s a test that will live long in the memory.
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Azimut Verve 48
In stark contrast to the Lambo, the flagship of Azimut’s US-focussed Azimut Verve range couldn’t be easier to drive fast. One of the many changes over the Verve 47, which this model replaces, is the addition of triple Mercury 600hp V12s to the transom.
Whereas the Lambo is fire and brimstone with lots of drama to get it to perform, with the Azimut Verve 48 you simply put the throttles in single lever mode, bury one and it flies up to 40 knots in the blink of an eye before eventually topping out at around 50 knots. Sure, the top speed isn’t much to write home about, but the way it gets there is laughably easy.
The real joy is that you can use all the performance so easily. Having three outboards delivers immense grip so it fires out of the hole in no time but will cruise very happily anywhere between 25-40 knots. The handling is predictable, too, so you can chuck hard turns if you want to and it’s a lot of fun but never feels like it’s going to whip around and bite you on the hand. It may not get the heart racing like the Lambo but there’s a joy in being able to experience every inch of a boat’s performance.
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BOAT TESTAzimut Verve 48 Review (2023 Edition)
Targa 41
The original idea behind this video was to take the new Targa 41 wave hunting off Poole. It’s the first new Targa model in seven years - and the first with a hull window - so we felt it necessary to do something a bit different from the usual sea trial.
Naturally, the test day arrived and there wasn’t a breath of wind or an inch of swell to be seen; I’ve had choppier baths. Undeterred, we decided to make our own waves to test the mettle of the 41’s hull. What might seem like wanton hooliganism had some relatively sound consumer advice attached to it. Despite their looks, Targas are some of the best handling boats you’ll find for their size, and what better way to test that than pulling full-speed donuts and figures of 8?
One of the pleasures of helming a Targa is the disparity between the way they look and the way they perform. Our test boat was fitted with a pair of Volvo Penta D6 440hp diesel inboards on sterndrives and it's such a sweet setup. The top speed is 38 knots but there is a lot of fun to be had with the handling of this boat, especially from the upper helm where the “flying potting shed” is quite happy to dance around beneath you.
We may not have had the conditions for this test but, rest assured, these things can also do the business in the rough, which I’ve been fortunate enough to experience on numerous occasions. There is nothing quite like one of these things charging along at 30 knots - it’s a special feeling.
Read & Watch Our Review
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BOAT TESTTarga 41 Review (2024 Edition)
Fairline F-Line 33
When we shot our Prop Gear video back in May and were asked to pick between Fairline’s Targa 45, Targa 40, and F-Line 33 it didn’t take me long to choose my steed. Given the main part of the video was going to be the drag race, the twin 430hp V8s in the Fairline F-Line 33 were calling me. I may have had the least space and the coldest face, but whatever happened I was going to win the race.
So confident was I that when James and Nick buried their throttles at the start of the race I held back to make it a (slightly) fairer fight. Sure enough, when I opened the taps and all 960hp of the naturally aspirated Volvo V8s was unleashed the little Fairline fired towards the other two boats as if they owed it money. It’s a pocket rocket, this, with old-school power and a mini muscle boat vibe through and through.
It’s a riot from behind the wheel. They’ve sorted the driving position out, which was one of the flaws when the boat originally launched, so it’s much more engaging and supportive in the turns. And this thing can turn. The twin sterndrives are so smooth and agile but the grip is immense at high speed. It slaloms with the precision and grace of a downhill skier and pivots like a motorbike with the sort of heel angles that can’t fail to put a smile on your face. Farline has refined this boat into a cracking little package.
Quarken 35 Cabin
In our second Prop Gear of 2024, I challenged Nick Burnham (aka AQUAHOLIC) to bring a rival to the Quarken 35 Cabin so we could put both boats through some challenges to see which was best. A little miffed from being so roundly beaten in the Farline shootout, he brought a Bazooka to a gunfight and opted for the triple outboard Wellcraft 335 with nearly 1,000hp.
It was clear that the odds were stacked against my 600hp Quarken in the drag race and despite it being a fair bit lighter and narrower than the Wellcraft, I couldn’t keep up with the triple-engined might of Nick’s Wellcraft. As the old saying goes, there’s no replacement for displacement.
However, we had a more nuanced test in mind, which was to race back to Cowes, tie up and make a cup of tea, and win. The first to take a sip from his mug wins. Here, the lithe, easy-to-handle Quarken shone and proved very easy for me to bring alongside on my own, tie up and get the kettle on.
The thrill of this test wasn’t necessarily performance - though the bouncy drag race got the heart beating - it was being able to experience a boat in a more real-world scenario where we could see what they were like to handle, crew, and guide into a berth. The “Cup of Tea” challenge may have sounded like a daft premise but we both learned a lot from that exercise. Namely that Mr.B is hopeless at making a cup of tea…
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