License to Thrill

Pershing’s largest yacht to date combines power and performance with comfort and efficiency.

Author:
Justin Ratcliffe, Editor-at-Large, Europe, Yachts International
Publish date:
Feb 10, 2021

Pershing’s largest yacht to date combines power and performance with comfort and efficiency.

Creating a new flagship is always a challenge, especially for a brand that shares the name of a ballistic missile in an eco-sensitive world. So the pressure was on for the Ferretti Group to outdo the 40-knot Pershing 115, the previous top-of-the-range model, in a way that would favor efficiency and comfort over raw speed.

The airy main salon and dining room furnished by top designer names Poltrona Frau, Minotti, Artemide, Roche Bobois and Molteni.

Enter the Pershing 140, which the Ferretti Group Product Strategy Committee (led by Piero Ferrari, son of Enzo) developed alongside the group’s Engineering Department and designer Fulvio De Simoni, who has styled all the Pershings to date. A full 25 feet longer and twice the volume of the Pershing 115, the Pershing 140 is built of aluminum instead of fiberglass.

Whereas the 115 was powered by a pair of 3,700-horsepower, 16-cylinder MTU diesels coupled to KaMeWa water jets (with the option of a gas turbine for even more speed), the 140 packs four 2,600-horsepower MTUs that are collectively more fuel efficient. They drive four water jets—two steerable and two boosters—for what Pershing says is a redline speed of 38 knots and a cruising speed of 35 knots. At 10 knots, the Pershing 140 has a reported range of 1,400 nautical miles.

The master stateroom is on the main deck forward. Note the belt-and-buckle detailing.

The water jets, which are basically big pumps, help to keep draft shallow and reduce noise and vibration. Three Seakeeper 35 stabilizers should ensure that the only rock and roll is what comes out of the entertainment system.

“A Pershing for me has to be instantly recognizable, and this was one of the biggest challenges when we started the project,” says Nadia Serafini, head of sales for the brand. “The fact that, despite her size, the 140 shares Pershing’s unmistakable design DNA is largely down to Fulvio De Simoni.”

De Simoni retained the aggressively sporty Pershing profile in the 140 but added a modern edge that makes the 115 look almost sedate. Standout features include an automotive-style grille in the bow that invokes a sports car aesthetic, and winglike arches that extend and anchor the lines of the raised pilothouse to the main deck.

The tender garage converts to a beach club in the stern when the fold-down bulwarks are deployed.

The Pershing 140 is also the brand’s first yacht to have a raised platform aft connected to the sundeck. The design creates more headroom in the transom garage and beach club below, and lets fold-down bulwarks shield the dining table in the cockpit from view when the yacht is moored stern-to in a marina.

Aluminum construction also allows for more flexible layouts than building in fiberglass with molds. On Chorusline, the first Pershing 140 (ordered by an Asian owner), the master stateroom forward served as a media lounge. On the second hull, Touch Me, the owner wanted a full-beam apartment with a lounge, walk-in closet and airy bathroom with a Jacuzzi bathtub.

The interior design aboard Touch Me, also by De Simoni, is soberly Italian and perfectly in tune with the yacht’s contemporary exterior styling. The loose furniture and fittings are by Poltrona Frau, Minotti, Artemide, Roche Bobois, Molteni and Fontana Arte. Straps and buckles like those on classic Louis Vuitton suitcases add character to the fixed joinery.

Guest accommodations on the lower deck include three en suite staterooms and a full-beam VIP forward for a total of 10 guests, including the owners. The lower deck also houses a galley and two crew cabins with bunk beds (the captain’s cabin is on the main deck).

The Pershing 140 Touch Me shows off her svelte lines and evening colors.

The “maxi open” moniker seems insufficient to describe the Pershing 140, which moves well into superyacht territory at 142 feet (43.3 meters) in length with a beam of 28 feet (8.55 meters). Perhaps “maxi coupé” is a more fitting descriptor.

One thing is for sure: Despite her size, the 140 has all the thrill of her smaller but equally sporty sisters.