Prestige 460

Our first look at the Prestige 460.

By Jason Y. Wood

May 5, 2017

New new new is what the market seems to want—indeed, demand—these days. After all, last week’s thing is not going to be the next big thing. And it’s only become more pronounced since the global financial crisis has turned into a combination of opportunity and why wait? Many boatbuilders have kept a laser-like focus on developing new models so they’ll have a shot at creating the next “next big thing.”

Prestige Yachts is certainly no different, introducing a steady flow of new models from a facility in Les Herbiers, France, on the campus of a Jeanneau plant that also produces that parent company’s sailboats. So what happens when a builder grows a brand and fills its market space with models? Does that mean there’s nothing new left for the builder to do?

Hardly. Prestige is following a path similar to that of some other builders. It’s making more hay with the initial investment in engineering and design. The best part: The management team at Prestige makes no bones about it—as in, there is no attempt at deception. They understand that it just makes sense not to start from the ground up every time a new model is to be produced.

The Prestige 460 is a rebirth, if you will, based on the very bones of the 450 Fly, a model introduced in 2013 that got a lot of things right in her two-stateroom, two-head layout. The 450 ran well and topped out at around 31 knots in our sea trial. Her layout had a galley aft, so it could easily service the cockpit or saloon. And best of all, the 450 had aspirations (delusions?) of superyacht grandeur, with a separate stairway entrance to the amidships master.

The 460 builds on the same hull as the 450, and the flybridge mold is the same, too. However, the deck mold changed and with it the living space grew a bit, as I was shown by Adrien Berton, Product Marketing Manager for Prestige, who pointed out the details and earnestly explained the thought process. “The cockpit is wider,” he said, showing me where the space was gained, “and the L-shaped bench is farther aft.” There was one surprise, where the 460 takes the superyacht aspirations further: crew’s quarters aft. “The crew cabin was a request from the dealers,” Berton says, “as was easy access forward to both side decks.”

In the interior, the saloon area is longer with a dinette to port and a loveseat to starboard, abaft the helm station. A companionway forward is slightly offset to starboard.

In the amidships master, the berth is situated longitudinally, and offset a bit to port. Best of all, that new deck mold means there are no steps in the overhead, as on the 450. Such a seemingly small change can in fact alter the whole feel of that stateroom.

“The 460 is more like a small 500 than a larger 450,” Berton said, citing another successful model in the Prestige line. And with loads of features in this proven hull, many boaters may discover the 460 will be their next big thing.

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