Prestige has released renderings of its next-generation flybridge model, the Prestige F4, ahead of its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Yachting Festival...
Measuring 49ft 9in (15.18m) with a maximum beam of 14ft 9in (4.49m), the Prestige F4 is similar in size to the outgoing Prestige 520 but features a new Michael Peters hull with a deeper vee and a fuller, higher bow, said to offer ‘unparalleled stability, efficiency and comfort in navigation’.
However, the biggest changes are saved for the interior and exterior spaces, where a number of innovative ideas, layouts and materials are being used to try and lift Prestige further away from its mainstream market origins.
This starts at the stern where twin staircases lead up from the optional hydraulic bathing platform to a cockpit with freestanding furniture that can be arranged in a conventional L-shape or facing each other across the beam to enjoy the views out.
Rather more unusual is the decision to replace the regular sliding patio doors with a single hinged glass door to starboard and a large opening window above the aft galley, which is arranged transversely across the beam of the boat at the aft end of the saloon.
It’s hard to tell from the renderings how this will work in practice but it appears that a second full-height sliding window/door on the starboard side of the saloon gives direct access to and from the side deck, enabling guests to reach the foredeck sunpads without tracking back through the galley.
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The well-appointed flybridge features a convivial seating/sunbathing area next to the port upper helm with a larger dinette wrapping around the aft end and a wet bar unit in between.
The below-deck arrangement is equally innovative. Unlike the 520, which has its owner’s cabin occupying the full beam amidships, the Prestige F4 has its best cabin forward and a few steps down from the saloon in what is described as a ‘semi-main deck master suite’.
Prestige claims this gives it exceptional privacy, headroom and light thanks to the hull windows and skylights. There are two further cabins amidships, one larger with a double bed to starboard and a smaller twin to port. They share a separate shower room off the lower lobby.
The ‘semi-main deck master suite’
There are no propulsion choices with this model, just a pair of Volvo Penta IPS650 pods, which should mean a top speed of around 27 knots depending on load. Prices are still to be announced.
“I don’t envy Prestige’s designers,” says MBY editor Hugo Andreae. “On the one hand they need to try and differentiate their products from the mainstream brands, on the other they still need to offer better value than the more established premium brands.
“By the looks of these renderings they might just have pulled off a very neat balancing act. Let’s hope they get the pricing right too.”
Cockpit seating can be arranged to face across the beam of the boat for better views out
The usual cockpit patio doors have been replaced by a hinged door and a big aft galley window
Sliding window on starboard side of the saloon doubles as doorway onto the side deck
The larger of the two amidships guest cabins
