Reporting from the 2023 Southampton Boat Show, MBY's Alex Smith takes us on a full tour of the Nordkapp Gran Coupé 905 V12, which was making its UK debut...
Even in its standard guise, the Nordkapp Gran Coupé 905 is a dramatic-looking boat. But with its aggressive hull lines, inverted screen, tinted windows and high-contrast detailing, Nordkapp’s V12 show boat has to be one of the most potent-looking SUVs you can buy.
Built around a symmetrical walkaround layout with a central pilothouse, the open cockpit provides a four-man aft bench plus an additional two-man bench at the back end of the superstructure.
Both can be removed from the deck with simple thumb screws if you want to free up the space for boating toys, watersports or fishing. And the big bench can also face aft, past that mighty 600hp Mercury outboard so you can spot a skier or admire the view.
Up at the bow, a pair of lovely foredeck sun loungers features a handy hinged cushion that enables you to fold them back between the mouldings and tether them in place with a poppered canvas for protection underway.
And things are equally good in the pilothouse. As you enter, you take a substantial step down, creating fantastic headroom for a boat of this type, alongside really impressive all-round views.
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It also has the potential to feel pretty open, thanks to a sliding aft door, a skipper’s side door and a massive canvas sunroof, lined on the underside with luxurious Alcantara. From here, an open-plan layout leads directly down to a cuddy cabin with a forward double, an aft changing area and a dedicated heads compartment to starboard.
You can also convert the pilothouse dinette and sleep four on board this boat – and if you do so, the extraordinary standard spec of this top-line model should make things pretty comfortable.
It extends from the Webasto heating, hot and cold water, stern anchor and electric soft top to the bow and stern thrusters, forward sundeck, convertible cockpit and fully featured heads.
As for performance, that eponymous 7.6-litre 600hp V12 Verado promises a top end of around 55 knots alongside reported cruising efficiency of just two litres per mile at 25 knots.
Though fuel flow like that sounds impressive, the 300-litre tank does seem a bit small for a platform with adventure boat pretensions and the throttle also feels a bit exposed in the threshold between helm and side deck.
But as a fine-looking four-season family cruiser that feels high-end in almost every way, there’s a great deal here to like.
Enjoy the tour…
Nordkapp Gran Coupé 905 V12 specifications
LOA: 29ft 9in (9.12m)
Beam: 9ft 7in (2.98m)
Engines: Single 600hp Mercury V12 outboard
Top speed: 55 knots
Starting price: £321,850 (inc. VAT)
