Azimut S6 Review, Price and the Case for Three Engines

The Azimut S6 in short, and where it sits in the S range

The Azimut S6 is a 59-foot coupe-style sport yacht that made its world debut at the 2018 Cannes Yachting Festival and is still part of Azimut's S series alongside the S7 and S8. It is the direct descendant of the 55S of 2012, the boat that first surprised the industry by putting three small Volvo IPS units where everybody expected two big ones.

Stefano Righini drew the exterior, with the trapezoid snub bow and stainless steel bow shield that mark every S model. Francesco Guida, known for his work with Arcadia Yachts, designed an interior of contrasting oak, steel and pale fabrics, and Azimut's hull work was led by Pierluigi Ausonio. Buyers searching for a 2019 Azimut S6 or an S6 for sale are, in practical terms, choosing among a single generation that has changed little since launch; the main variant is the Sportfly with a compact upper helm.

Why three IPS700s, and why the logic is thinner than on the 55S

Alan Harper tested both boats and is refreshingly honest about the math. On the 55S, three 435 hp IPS600s were lighter and no thirstier than a pair of 800 hp units. The S6 is heavier and bigger, and Volvo no longer offered the IPS600, so it moved up to three 550 hp IPS700s built on the 7.7-liter D8. Those are only slightly lighter than two IPS1050s, offer no meaningful fuel advantage and, by MBY's measurement, are slightly thirstier.

So why bother? Because three short engines need a short engine room. The S6's lower deck is almost identical to the 55S's, the engine room bulkhead did not move, and the two extra feet of hull are all aft to house the bigger motors. That is what makes room for a master suite and VIP that feel a size larger than the boat. The penalty is service access, which both PMY and MBY described as close to nonexistent: the engine room is packed so tightly that the center unit sits a couple of inches from the tender well, and major work means dismantling.

Carbon fiber above, vinylester below

Azimut's Carbon-Tech approach is central to the S6. The hull is vacuum-infused with vinylester resin, while the entire deckhouse, stern, transom and main deck aft of amidships are carbon fiber, as are the tender garage hatch, swim platform and opening sunroof panel. The goal is weight high in the boat kept low, which helps the large diamond-pattern windows and also matters for the Sportfly version's added helm.

Even so, the S6 is about 2.1 tonnes heavier than the 55S, and Azimut lists 65,763 pounds at full load. Yachting noted that one competitor just a foot longer weighed about 108,000 pounds, a useful reminder of what the carbon buys.

Sea trial numbers from three magazines

MBY's two-way average off Cannes was 35.5 knots, a knot faster than the 55S under similar load. Yachting recorded 35 knots at 90.2 gallons per hour, a range of 239 nautical miles on the 686-gallon tank with a 10 percent reserve. Throttle back to 26.9 knots and burn drops to 65 gph for 255 miles; at 19 knots the boat uses 39.3 gph and covers about 300 miles. PMY saw it climb onto plane in about seven seconds and reach 35 knots in roughly 35 seconds.

The hull is a fairly deep V of 21.2 degrees amidships, shared with the 55S from the bow to midships, flattening to 15.5 degrees at the transom with a reworked central tunnel and chines. Harper found it sliced cleanly through wakes at right angles and heeled so hard in turns that testers looked out through the sunroof. Volvo's EVC joystick, autotrim and a single lever controlling all three engines are standard.

Asymmetric cockpit, low galley and a diagonal master

The main deck is open from the cockpit to the helm. The cockpit seating is deliberately asymmetric so an L-shaped sofa can wrap a folding carbon fiber table, and a cutout in the backrest gives access to the starboard side deck. The galley runs low along the port side so it never blocks the view, and a high-low salon table converts from coffee to dining height. A garage beneath the aft sunpad takes a jet tender of about 11 feet, such as a Williams Turbojet 325 or Sportjet 345.

Below, the master is amidships with a diagonal double berth, a breakfast dinette or dresser to port and 6 feet 3 inches of headroom. The VIP forward sits further aft than usual thanks to the short engine room, which gives it more beam and floor area than expected. A twin cabin to starboard shares the day head, and a crew or utility cabin with its own head is reached through a foredeck hatch.

• Master amidships, about 6 ft 4 in by 5 ft 4 in berth per MBY
• VIP forward with en suite, set further aft than usual for extra beam
• Twin cabin with 6 ft 5 in berths sharing the day head
• Single crew cabin in the forepeak with a separate head

The S6 Sportfly, a tiny bridge with a big view

Launched at Boot Düsseldorf and famously displayed in Times Square for Azimut's 50th anniversary celebrations, the Sportfly adds a compact upper helm on the hardtop reached by a steep stair whose upper half folds away. PMY likened its size to the bridge of a 1960s Bertram 31: one helm seat, a short curved sofa and a console. Keeping it small protected the center of gravity, and the carbon structure aft is what made it possible. For US owners who dock stern-to in tight marinas or run the Intracoastal, the elevated view can be worth the premium on resale.

Azimut S6 price, depreciation and running costs

PMY put the base price at approximately $1.9 million when it tested the boat in early 2019. Today a new S6 configured for the US will cost meaningfully more, which is why we estimate $2.3 to $2.8 million for a 2026 build. On the used market, early boats are trading around $1.1 to $1.4 million and the newest at up to about $2 million; YachtBuyer reported a 2021 boat at $1.6 million and an average time on market of 287 days.

Running costs follow the triple installation. Fuel at a 27-knot cruise is around 65 gph, and every service touches three engines, three drives and an engine room with little working space. With dockage, insurance, a part-time captain and routine maintenance, expect roughly $120,000 to $210,000 a year before fuel for a Florida-based boat.