Porsche Design Boats, From the Fearless 28 to Later Collaborations

How Porsche Design is organized

Porsche Design began with one man. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, who shaped the first 911, set up his own design office in Stuttgart in 1972 and relocated it two years later to Zell am See in the Austrian Alps. The office, now called Studio F. A. Porsche after a 2015 rename, works as a consultancy, creating products that other firms manufacture. The retail brand that sells Porsche Design goods is a separate business, Porsche Lifestyle, based in Ludwigsburg and owned by Porsche AG. Over the decades the studio's work has ranged from eyewear and watches to kitchen products and streetcars for Vienna.

Boats fit that same model. Porsche supplies the styling and sometimes input on ergonomics, while an established or start-up builder engineers, molds and sells the craft. There is no Porsche boat plant, no Porsche marine dealer and no Porsche boat warranty.

The first attempt, a Miami Beach speedboat

The studio's first boat came through Fearless Yachts, a new company in Miami Beach that had the project on its website in 2006 and unveiled the finished Fearless 28 at the Miami show early in 2007. Roland Heiler, then running Porsche Design, led the styling, naval architect Chris Elms drew the hull, and engineers from Donzi and Pro-Line parent American Marine Holdings in Sarasota helped bring it to life. The boat was a silver, single-engine sportboat capable of more than 70 knots, and Fearless talked of a fleet reaching 150 feet, including a waterjet 68-footer announced for 2008.

None of the bigger yachts were built, and Power and Motoryacht later put total sales of the 28 at about four. Our Porsche Fearless 28 review covers its construction, performance claims, cockpit and the reasons the venture stalled.

Later projects and what buyers can actually find

The studio kept returning to the water. Its name later went on a Dynamiq superyacht, and in 2023 Porsche teamed up with Austrian builder Frauscher on the 850 Fantom Air, an electric runabout using Porsche drivetrain technology. For anyone who wants to own and use a Porsche-styled boat today, the Frauscher is the realistic route, bought through Frauscher's own sales network.

The Fearless remains the brand's rarest and most collectible boat. With only a few in existence and no factory support, a sale is a private negotiation with almost no comparable transactions, and a buyer should approach it as a collector piece that happens to float.

• Establish exactly which engine and drive are installed and where parts will come from
• Have a marine engine specialist check compression and leakdown and review rebuild records
• Look over the stepped bottom for impact damage and stress crazing
• Survey the composite laminate with tap testing and a moisture meter
• Check the windscreen, flush deck hardware and recessed lighting
• Confirm clear title and the condition of the trailer