The new entry-level model in the Ferretti Yachts’ lineup sets the tone for the range. How does it stack up in a particularly crowded corner of the market? Jack takes the Ferretti 500 for a test drive...
There is some quite serious exotica sheltering within the eight brands that make up the Ferretti Group umbrella.
Daring, angular day boats from Wally, no-nonsense muscle boats from Itama, heart-crushingly beautiful day boats from Riva and waterborne rocket ships from Pershing to name a few.
In the middle of all this is the group’s namesake, Ferretti Yachts. These are the straight shooters, the sort of timeless, desirable flybridge cruisers that give licence for the other brands to explore territory away from the beaten path.
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£1220000
Ferretti 450 test: Crossing the English Channel on an Italian flybridge
Put a Ferretti, Wally and Pershing inside a bar and the Pershing would be straight to the front to order a tequila, the Wally would be on the karaoke and the Ferretti would be leaning on the bar, martini glass in hand and eyebrow arched.
The Ferretti 500, in replacing the 450, is the new entry-level model in Ferretti’s flybridge range with a starting price a whisker north of €1 million, including vodka and tonic.
Its Filippo Salvetti exterior is a study in understated class. For some, their €1 million pride and joy will require more visual punch – more theatre – but those who choose to buy one of the nine or ten that Ferretti will build each year will no doubt fall for its reserved charm.
It doesn’t shout, it doesn’t scream, it oozes refined capability and will age better than Pierce Brosnan.
Read our full review of the Ferretti 500 in the April issue of MBY, which is out now.
