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..
