The Gran Turismo 45 is very much a social boat but she’s also an entry-level weekender at the same time. She’s perfect for the set that has had enough of the center console or bowrider days and is now looking to get more out of their premium boating time.
This is the third generation of the Gran Turismo line. It’s landing in the market at an exciting time — 70,000 new boaters have entered the boating market in the last couple of years. These boaters are ready to make the move from day boating to a boat that can accommodate not only overnighting but taking additional couples along for the weekend. However, the GT45 still has all of the day boating DNA that made them fall in love with boating in the first place — the swim platform, the outdoor grill… etc.
Furthermore, it’s interesting to see how Beneteau named this Gran Turismo model the GT45. Any other company would have taken the liberty of looking at the LOA of 48’6” (14.78 m) and called it the GT48 in a vain attempt to capture more sales from those looking at yachts in that size range. But this is a company that doesn’t need to play in that sandbox. Her hull length of 44’3” (13.5 m) is enough to call her the GT45 and her attributes are all she needs to sell herself. We must appreciate that self-confidence and lack of desire to succumb to the bottom-feeding level of marketing ploys. For this is indeed a yacht that needs no such tactics.