Prestige’s New M7 Catamaran Has the Interior Space of a 70-Footer

It was a gamble for French-Italian yacht builder Prestige Yachts to bring two new catamaran models to market in 2022. The brand was known for its flybridge motoryachts, and the multihull market attracted an entirely different type of client. It also meant going up against some serious competitors like Sunreef, Aquila, and Silent Yachts, all with established track records and very cool designs.

The larger of the two new Prestige models, the M8, was praised by Robb Report after a sea trial. But it also raised some eyebrows. It had a distinctly high-volume, even boxy, outward appearance that was a stark departure from Prestige’s usual sculpted, sleek flybridge monohulls. The M8 had “slow initial sales,” Jean-François Lair, chief sales officer of Groupe Beneteau, Prestige Yachts’ parent, told Robb Report following a recent press event.

But the second cat, a smaller and more elegant 48-foot M48, bulls-eyed its target audience, selling 70 units in the two years since its debut. Its success showed a sizable opportunity in the market, a sweet spot that could marry the small-size appeal of the M48 with the volumes of the M8. “That experience was to our benefit, and we knew what we wanted to achieve with the new M7,” says Lair. This just-launched 58-footer, which Prestige recently showed to a handful of media outlets, has already sold two units before it is officially launched next month at the Cannes Yachting Festival.

The M7’s interior was penned by naval architect Marc Lombard with exteriors by Garroni Design, which retained the continuity with the first two yachts in the M series. The M7’s name is also a smart idea—a nod to the equivalent 70-foot interior volumes that you can expect on board.

However, the M7 has some deliberate differences. The most obvious are its lower-profile hull (its Prestige sleek rather than boxy) and narrower beam—24’7 feet as opposed to the M8’s 30 feet. Those differences will appeal to owners who may not want to struggle to navigate in a marina, or be buffeted around by wind. The M7’s interior design is also restrained, with a more upscale feel thanks to the neutral coffee-and-cream colors and the full-height windows in the main salon that maximize ocean views. Lair credits the M7’s good looks to the Franco-Italian crossover of the brand. The yachts are built in France, using the efficient French factory model that has served Groupe Beneteau gloriously well for many years, but the spritz of Italian design adds some polish to the M line.

Outside the interior, the beach club was designed as a key focus of the new model, fitted with a transformer swim platform that drops below the surface of the sea that helps with tender retrieval or simply stepping into the sea. The sofa seating in the aft cockpit allows guests to interact with those in the water or those stretching out on the rear of the flybridge deck.

At a private viewing of the new model in Portopiccolo, Italy, close to a second Groupe Beneteau boatbuilding facility in Monfalcone, Prestige took the group of journalists for a test drive. The beach club is the first thing that everyone notices, but the flybridge is an instant crowd-pleaser too, giving guests multiple social zones as well as a second helm for navigating in beautiful weather. “The thing about this boat is there’s plenty of space to be together but also plenty of space to be apart,” says Lair.

There’s a second helm in the salon, tucked away under a hood area to starboard. This discreet placement makes it clear that large salon is designed for livability but also offers the possibility of rough-weather navigation. The yacht has four guest cabins, including a forward, laterally facing primary suite with residential touches like translucent glass wardrobes, pale-gold light bars that light up beneath the various fittings for a classy, upscale effect, and an en suite with contemporary vertical mirrors and circular basins. The vibe is more seaside villa than boat.

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The M7 is powered with twin Volvo Penta D8-550 engines though there are both smaller- and larger-hp options. Ultimately, though, the M7 isn’t designed for life in the fast lane; this is a slow and steady option. 

“Money isn’t really an issue,” for Prestige’s clients, points out Lair, so they could afford either the M7 or larger M8 “It’s more a question of their philosophy.” The M8 is a bold, loud boat that people love for its volume. “[However], because it’s big, people don’t always feel at ease, because there’s not as much privacy. But the M7 is a much more human-sized. You feel like you can handle it on your own.”

Prestige thinks most potential clients for the M7 will either be downsizing to a boat with fewer crew (the M7 has crew quarters for three) or as a first boat, so they want the same kind of dimensions as a small shoreside. The M7 manages to tick both boxes while offering some well-designed features. It’s certainly less boxy than its M8 sistership.