Azimut Verve 42, an Italian Cafe Racer That Can Take a Beating

The Azimut Verve 42 looks like a poseur and rides like a race boat

Capt. Chris Caswell opened his Boating test by comparing the Azimut Verve 42 to a cafe racer, the motorcycle that looks like a competition bike but mostly rides from pub to bistro. Then he found out it is no poseur. Yachting and Boating ran the boat out of Port Everglades into a lumpy Gulf Stream with Federico Ferrante, president of Azimut Benetti USA, at the wheel, and both reported a hull that landed softly, tracked straight and gave off nary a creak.

Introduced at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in 2021, the 42 is the smallest current member of Azimut's outboard Verve family. It sits below the Verve 48, which replaced the 47, and follows the original Verve 40 of 2016, the boat that proved an Italian yacht builder could sell outboard dayboats to Americans. It is built to CE Category A and finished like a small yacht, not a fishing boat.

Michael Peters' stepped tunnel hull explained

Sarasota designer Michael Peters drew the bottom using his patented Stepped-Vee Ventilated Tunnel form: a deep V with two transverse steps and a tunnel aft that feeds air under the running surface. Azimut lists 24.5 degrees of deadrise at the hull center and 22.5 at the transom, steep numbers for a 42-footer. Yachting found it as soft as a conventional deep V with better directional stability and solid tracking in turns, while double strakes and a wide spray rail threw most of the water aside.

Construction uses vinylester resin in the hull for blister protection and carbon fiber in the deck and hardtop. Displacement is about 30,865 pounds at full load, or 14 tonnes, heavy for a center console of this size and part of the reason the ride is so composed.

Triple Mercury power, 45 knots and an evolving engine list

Launch boats carried three Mercury Racing 450R outboards, 1,350 hp in total, with supercharged 4.6-liter V8 powerheads and electrohydraulic steering. Both Yachting and PMY saw 45 knots, and Boating noted that 50 mph trips to Bimini and back for lunch are realistic in decent weather. Azimut's current data sheet lists three Mercury 400 hp outboards, a maximum of 43 knots and a 32-knot cruise, so check which package a used boat carries.

We have not seen a published fuel curve for the Verve 42. Boating ran its test with 200 of the 462 gallons aboard, and Azimut does not publish an outboard range figure, so plan fuel conservatively on offshore runs. Mercury's joystick with Skyhook position holding and a Seakeeper were fitted to PMY's test boat, which sat pinned in place in a ripping current with nobody at the wheel.

• Launch power: 3 x Mercury Racing 450R, 1,350 hp
• Current sheet: 3 x Mercury 400 hp, up to 43 knots, 32-knot cruise
• Tested top speed: 45 knots (Yachting and PMY)
• Fuel 462 gallons, water 66 gallons, 11 kW Onan generator

Helm technology that shrinks the boat at the dock

PMY's tester watched the Verve 42 hold position in a ripping current, blustery wind and steep 3-foot chop with nobody touching the wheel, using Mercury's Skyhook to fix the boat's location and a Seakeeper to stop it rolling. For an owner-operator, that combination does more for confidence than the top speed. The joystick handles close-quarters work, and the three race-style helm seats put the skipper and two companions side by side.

One detail testers keep mentioning is the pair of side windows set into the gunwales level with the helm. Underway they show the water racing past; alongside a dock they let the skipper see the fenders and the gap without leaning out. Combined with digital switching, they make a 42-foot boat with three big outboards surprisingly manageable for a couple.

A semi-center-console deck with a beach on one side

Yachting called the layout semi-center-console. The starboard side has a conventional raised deck, while the port side is a cockpit-level walkway around the house to the bow, so guests can reach the forward lounge safely at speed. Up front, a U-shaped settee surrounds a table and a sunpad sits on the cabin top, all inside welded stainless rails. The windlass is hidden with 130 feet of chain.

Aft, the L-shaped cockpit settee wraps a table that rises electrically from the sole and stows flush when not needed, and the port hullside folds down to create a beach with a wide swim ladder. A full-beam walkway sits a step down between cockpit and engines. Because the engines hang off the transom, there is a large technical space under the cockpit with step-in access to systems and an aft hold that works as a toy garage.

The helm has three electrically adjustable bolstered seats, twin 15-inch Raymarine displays, a Humphree automatic trim system and aircraft-style overhead switches. Boating liked the look but noted the switches are a stretch for a seated skipper, and wanted rounder, more numerous grab handles in the cockpit.

A weekend cabin, not a token cuddy

Below, Francesco Struglia's interior is all grays, blacks and textured fabrics. A private owner's cabin aft has a queen berth, a privacy door and stowage in the headboard, with windows hidden in the hull graphics. Forward, a dinette table lowers electrically to make a V-berth for kids or friends. The galley hides behind lacquered doors with an induction cooktop, Miele oven, fridge and sink, and the head has an electric toilet and a glass-door stall shower with 6 feet 6 inches of headroom.

Boating's one complaint was the single-burner Kenyon induction cooktop, stingy for a boat that can comfortably host long weekends. Triple-zone air conditioning runs off the 11 kW Onan generator under the cockpit.

Verve 40, 42, 47 and 48, and what to pay

The Verve name covers four boats. The Verve 40 of 2016 used triple 350 hp Verados for 45 knots and a 37-knot cruise; the Verve 47 of 2020 to 2023 ran quad 450Rs; the Verve 48 that followed uses triple Verado 600 V12s. The 42 is the compact option in today's range, and none of these boats share hulls or specs, so read listings carefully.

Boating priced its test boat at $1.65 million in 2022. In 2026 a new, well-optioned boat likely costs $1.4 to $1.8 million, while YachtBuyer found a 2022 boat asking $879,000, a sign of how hard the first owner takes the hit. With dockage, insurance, Mercury Racing service intervals, generator care and bottom work, plan on $55,000 to $110,000 a year before fuel.