Lexus has put some further polish on its resplendent LY 650 marine yacht, now officially called the LY 680. Having received extensive customer feedback, the company has redesigned the passenger spaces and moved production to the United States to Taiwan. Preorders are only available in Japan right now, with the USA and Australia set to follow next.
The would-be buyers of the old yacht complained about the lack of space on the flybridge (i.e., the upper deck). Lexus responded by extending the deck by 1.4 meters (55 inches) and reworking the roof structure accordingly. The former roof design rested on a single pylon just beyond the flybridge, while the new one is based on three pylons. A U-shaped sofa occupied the extra space along with a barbecue set.
Another complaint concerned the diving platform at the tail. Lexus added 700 mm (27.4 inches) of length to it so that guests could not just dive into the open sea rom there, but also put up lounge chairs and a mini-table. As a result of these extensions, the new model is 20.66 meters (67.78 feet) long with the same passenger capacity (15 total, 6 beds across 3 luxury cabins).
Despite the automaker’s dedication to electrification and minimization of carbon footprint, the powertrain sticks to its diesel roots. A pair of Volvo Penta engines can be configured to output either 800 or 1000 PS (789 or 986 hp; 588 or 735 kW, respectively). The only modification here is a slightly larger tank, which now takes up to 4,012 liters (1,060 U.S. gallons) of diesel fuel.
Taiwan-based wharf Horizon will handle the production instead of Marquis Yachts this time around. It is speculated that the goal here is to make the LY 680 more affordable and popular than its predecessor.