Rare Porsche Design boat is fitted with a single 32-valve 928 engine and jet drive
https://www.carscoops.com/author/chris-chilton-cc/
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by Chris Chilton
July 22, 2023 at 13:50
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We know and love Porsche for its cars, but the brand name has featured on all kinds of other goods thanks to sister company Porsche Design. Pens, sunglasses, stereo systems, laptops, watches and luggage have all been created and sold by Porsche Design over the years, and if the idea of driving a 911 doesn’t float your boat, maybe a Porsche Design powerboat will.
One of the incredibly rare crafts has surfaced in Boca Raton, Florida, where it’s being offered for sale for $495,000. There’s no doubt about it, that is a ton of cash, enough to buy two 911 Turbos and still have change for years’ worth of gas, or an entry level example from each of Porsche’s current model lines. But with fewer than 10 boats rumored to have been built (and potentially as few as three per the seller’s comments), it makes even a 911 Sport Classic seem commonplace.
According to an incredibly detailed account on Stuttcars, the Kineo 27 was dreamed up in 1986 by Gerald (Jerry) Berton of Florida-based Tempest Yachts and Kineo’s Dr. Horst Stross. Though the basic hull concept was adapted from an existing proven shape from powerboat legend Don Aronow, Porsche Design worked on the project and power was to come from two marinized and turbocharged Porsche 928 S4 V8s developing a combined 800-1,000 PS (789-986 hp) and equipped with waterjet drive.
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The boats were also supposed to be sold through Porsche dealers in the U.S., but the recession had other plans and despite an attempt to make the Kineo 27 more affordable by offering a single, naturally-aspirated 928 engine (the dual-motor alternative had already abandoned turbocharging), the American part of the project folded in the early 1990s. An handful of single-engined boats were completed in the U.S., including, presumably, the boat currently up for sale, then a few more in Europe, minus the Porsche engines.
The Facebook ad says the Florida boat has been stored for 30 years, has two hours on the hull and zero hours on the Porsche V8, which is claimed to give a top speed of 65 mph (105 km/h). So it’s somewhat slower than a GT3 RS and won’t be that useful on a track, but we like the idea of hauling this to the coast behind a 964. You can check out the Facebook listing here, and Stuttcars‘ deep dive on the Kineo 27 here.
