Pershing 7X
The newest Pershing is 4 tons lighter and combines high performance with production boatbuilding, Italian style.
When I tested the Pershing 70 back in 2014, I got 46 knots out of her, and thoroughly enjoyed myself in the process. It was a capable, luxurious and comfortable motoryacht, as well as fast. Improvement really didn’t seem necessary, nor even a realistic prospect.
But this is a shipyard that is never satisfied. So the new 7X, although similar in size and concept to the earlier model, is quite a different animal. The most visible difference is of course the new design of the deck, with its muscular bulge on each side supporting the now-familiar “wings,” widening the deck at this point and creating more space where the cockpit and the sidedecks meet. The bulges also contain the engine room air intakes.
Not quite as obvious, perhaps, are the refinements to the design of the deckhouse. Slightly larger and more crisply sculpted windows provide even more daylight to the deck salon, while a longer overhang improves the yacht’s profile at the same time as providing more shade to the cockpit. The salon is compact, but comfortable, and has spectacular views on all sides. The glass bulkhead aft descends into the deck, in one of Pershing’s most celebrated party tricks, to help create a single, open-plan space that stretches from the aft sunbed to the helm.
The cockpit layout has also been improved, and features an excellent aft-facing seat from which to admire the surface drives’ magnificent rooster tail. A comfortable sunpad sits atop the tender garage, which can accommodate an 11-foot Williams 345 jet RIB. The swim platform is hydraulic.
Down below, all areas, including the crew cabin and all the head compartments, now benefit from much larger windows. And while there is still a choice between two- and three-cabin layouts, the optional third cabin is now over to starboard, with the spacious sofa and dinette that can be installed in its place conveniently placed opposite the galley. The L-shaped master suite amidships is just as big and luxurious as the earlier model’s, but its layout has been flipped, so the bed now backs onto the forward bulkhead.
Needless to say, the fit-out borders on opulent: Nubuck deckhead linings and striped walnut veneers compete for your attention with Armani Casa bedspreads, Casamance cushions, Dedar Milano fabrics and curtains from Pellini Nautica. This is production boatbuilding, Italian style.
The most significant difference between the old 70 and the new 7X, however, is not visible at all. It’s in the construction. Pershing has focused on introducing carbon fiber into all areas of the laminate, at the same time as searching for the best lightweight alternatives in the fit-out, from special parquet flooring to high-tech fiberglass bathroom moldings.
The result is a yacht which is claimed to be a full 4 tons lighter than the model it replaces. With twin 1,800-hp MAN V12s standard instead of the 1,623-hp MTUs fitted to the 70, that’s going to make quite a difference. Pershing reckons that its new 7X is a genuine 50-knot yacht—a breathtaking performance for a luxury vessel of this size.
That would be fine for me. It’s hard to see how it could be improved—although Pershing’s engineers are probably already working on it.
Pershing 7X Specifications:
LOA: 69’3”
Beam: 17’7”
Draft: 5’
Displ.: 77,162 lbs.
Fuel: 951 gal.
Water: 211 gal.
Standard power: 2/1,800-hp MAN V12
Cruise speed: 42 knots
Top speed: 50 knots
Price: Approx. $3.6 million
