PERSHING 8X
Not even Pershing is impervious to the market demands of more internal volume and a greater focus on living space. This could have posed a problem for a brand that prides itself on its boats’ abilities to outperform almost every rival.
Pershing, though, is no ordinary shipyard and has worked its magic on the 8X, creating a yacht that is considerably more spacious than its predecessor but still handles and performs as a Pershing should.
It’s easy to get blasé about performance stats but the 8X’s really are eye-popping. It’s just shy of 84ft long and weighs 57 tonnes, but its top speed is a whisker short of 50 knots and it can cruise all day at speeds of 35-45 knots.
So despite being bigger and having more space inside and out than the 82, thanks to a carbon fibre superstructure and a new surface drive system, it not only performs as well as ever it is also easier to handle both at speed and in a marina.
While many of the big yards are moving away from performance yachts in favour of slower, more voluminous designs, the Pershing 8X proves that if you do your homework right, it is still possible to have your cake and eat it.