ibinews.com International Boat Industry | JUNE–JULY 2019 37
will be met with more interest than
the new Lexus LY 650 Flybridge, which
Marquis is manufacturing under contract
for the luxury automaker.
Building on the strong reception to
the Lexus Sport Yacht Concept launched
in 2017, the LY 650 will measure 65.5ft
in overall length, ride on an 18.8ft beam
and feature a three stateroom, three head
layout. Standard power will be Volvo Penta
IPS 1,200 with IPS 1,350 power available as
an optional upgrade. “We have the single
model right now,” says Parmentier. “But
we’re talking with Lexus about developing
a full series.”
Marquis is no stranger to collaborative
ventures, with several years of experience
as the contract builder for Van Dutch
Yachts. Parmentier notes that Lexus is very
much an active participant in their current
partnership, deeply involved at every step.
“We have anywhere from three to 10 people
from Lexus in our plant every week,” he
says. “It’s been a tremendous collaboration
right from the start. We meet almost daily,
they’re not only true partners, they’ve
become true friends. We’ve learned a lot
from them, and they’ve been very kind in
sharing their production expertise.”
THE REBIRTH OF MARQUIS
Discontinuing a company’s entire product
lineup to build for the future is a gutsy
move, by any measure. “Big decisions are
always scary,” admits Parmentier. “But the
market is changing.
“When I was young it was not
uncommon for somebody to take their
yacht for a two- or three-week vacation.
Well, they don’t do that anymore. Today,
they take the boat to dinner, they cruise
up and down the Intra-Coastal, they enjoy
themselves and they run back. But they
still want to be comfortable, they want the
experience to be luxurious. We’ve seen a
lot of the big sport yachts being replaced
with day cruisers. So that segment is very
attractive and it’s very active and so we’re
going to fill that void with the new Marquis
lineup.”
Parmentier said the new Marquis
models are designed to better address
changes in the global marketplace where
there is an increasing demand for boats
with unique styling, greater performance
and higher levels of quality than are
currently offered by other production
builders. The company plans to introduce
a new Marquis 42 at the Ft Lauderdale
International Boat Show in late October, and
follow with 50ft and 60ft models that are in
development now.
“We’re excited about our new products,
and we’re excited about the opportunities that
are out there. With our years of successfully
building European-styled boats, and our
partnership with Lexus Yachts, we feel we’re
in an excellent position to capitalise on the
growing worldwide market for luxury sport
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