In today’s highly competitive auto market, one would think there are no new niches left to explore. Well, it’s pretty true, except for imaginative individuals like the crew from Sweden’s Gray Design, which also penned the Saab supercar.
Enter the world of the Strand Craft Limousine Beach Cruiser, a vehicle that looks like a crossover between a limousine, a convertible and a yacht – yes, you read correctly, a yacht. Essentially a beach shuttle, the Stand Craft has been conceived for luxury hotel chains willing to offer their clients premium service. More specifically, to carry six passengers from the hotel to the nearest beach as fast and as comfortable as possible.
Crafted by luxury boat maker Strand Craft, the Limousine Beach Cruiser is designed for the sunny parts of the world. Its looks confirm it: the car (or should we say yacht?) features an opening canvas roof, chromed hubcaps and wooden inlays. It also sports an even more extravagant interior with Alcantara leather, brushed aluminum, chrome, a Breitling-made instrument panel and Swarowski crystals.
To keep the passengers entertained until they arrive at the beach, the Limousine Beach Cruiser is fitted with a 15-speaker Naim sound system that has a 1100 Watt amplifier to ensure the best audio quality even when the canvas roof is opened. Finally, the car is powered by a 6.0-liter Chevrolet V8 engine with 400 horsepower, enough to offer the car a top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph). The eight-cylinder unit is linked to a Haldex-based all-wheel drive system.
There’s no info on pricing, though if you don’t own a luxury hotel you probably can’t afford it.
By Dan Mihalascu
PHOTO GALLERY
_______________________________________________________________________ VIDEO