Fairline Targa 40 Review, Price and Generations

The Fairline Targa 40 reopens the door to the Targa range

The current Fairline Targa 40 made its global debut at Boot Dusseldorf in January 2024 as the new entry point to the Targa range, and in 2025 it won the Motor Boat Awards prize for best sports cruiser up to 45 feet. Fairline says it takes design cues from the old Targa 38, but in volume and price it is a very different proposition.

MBY's tester Alex Smith arrived sceptical and left convinced, calling it a sensational British sports cruiser and an even more accomplished piece of work than the award-winning Squadron 58. His argument was simple: in the high-end 40-foot market, Sunseeker does not compete until about 55 feet and Princess's V40 dates from 2017, so the Targa 40 had a gap to fill.

If you are searching for a Fairline Targa 40, be aware that most used listings are for a completely different boat, the Targa 40 built from 2000 to 2007. We cover both here, starting with the new one.

Thirteen feet of beam on a 39-foot hull

The new boat is 39 feet 3 inches overall with a 13-foot beam, about a third of its length, and that beam is carried well forward to enlarge the foredeck and bow cabin. Side decks taper and are narrow toward the bow, but stay secure with plenty of handholds and cleats mounted outboard of the rails.

Styling is crisp: a snub semi-plumb bow with backlit logos, parallel spears framing the foredeck sunpad, long hull windows mirrored in the topsides, and no obvious rear hardtop pillars. YachtBuyer credits the naval architecture to J&J Design with Fairline.

Fairline quotes a dry weight of about 10,560 kg, while MBY measured more than 13 tonnes all-in on a heavily optioned boat. That weight shapes how it drives.

A cockpit built around a hidden tender

The aft cockpit is the cleverest part. Two symmetrical sunpad-and-bench units flank a central walkway from the platform. The port unit hides a fully inflated 2.3-meter tender, or a partially inflated 2.7-meter one, with an electric outboard, charging point and compressor. The starboard unit has a flip-over backrest that faces forward, aft or out over the optional drop-down side terrace.

Forward, a port dinette uses a table that hinges up and stows behind the backrest, a starboard wet bar has a sink, grill and two drained ice lockers, and companion seating opposite the helm is raised to make room below. On the foredeck, a sunpad for four has ratcheted backrests and a two-person forward-facing settee that emerges from its leading edge.

The helm gets a large one-piece windscreen, a big overhead sunroof (slow to open, MBY noted), sliding side windows and a dash that hinges up for wiring access.

• Beach club balcony (side terrace): 29,950 pounds
• Submersible platform with 300 kg lift: 26,850 pounds
• 8 kW generator with hob and combi oven: 22,950 pounds
• Eberspacher heating: 12,950 pounds
• Gloss walnut joinery: 10,450 pounds; hi-lo table for dinette bed: 7,950 pounds

One layout below, and it is a good one

Fairline offers a single lower-deck plan: a forward owner's cabin with an elevated bed and generous headroom, a mid cabin with twin beds that convert to a double, and one head with a separate shower. There is room for a bunk cabin, but Fairline will not offer one, so as not to steal sales from the Targa 45.

The open-plan lounge and galley feel huge. A starboard dinette seats six and converts to a third double with the optional table, and the port galley has an electric hob, combi oven, large fridge and plenty of high storage. Deep hull windows bring in light. Gloss walnut, chosen for about 80 percent of Fairlines, gives a traditional feel; matt and satin oak are the lighter alternatives.

On the water: a cruiser, not a race boat

Fairline quotes 28 knots with twin D6-340s and 33 knots with D6-380s; earlier projections in Yachting were 32 and 36 knots. MBY tested D6-380s in a Force 6 and found the transition to plane typical of a heavy cruiser: fuel use doubles from 2.7 to 5.7 liters per mile as the boat climbs over its hump between 9 and 12 knots, and dropping the tabs about 20 percent tames the bow-up attitude.

Above 22 knots the trim settles, directional stability stiffens and efficiency improves to 4 to 5 liters per mile, roughly 1.1 to 1.3 US gallons per nautical mile. MBY found the boat in its element between 25 and 34 knots, with prompt heel into turns and well-judged trim tabs.

Noise is the weak point: 83 dB at 10 knots, 86 dB through the main cruising band of 24 to 32 knots and 89 dB at the top. Comfort and build solidity, though, were described as excellent.

The 2000 to 2007 Targa 40 on the used market

Fairline announced the original Targa 40 in February 2000, with a launch date of April 2000. Designed by Bernard Olesinski, it measured 41 feet 6 inches overall with a 12-foot beam, a 3-foot 2-inch draft, 197 US gallons of fuel and a dry weight of about 7,620 kg. Its party piece was a concealed garage for a 2.7-meter RIB under the aft sundeck, rare on a 40-footer at the time.

Early boats used twin Volvo KAD44 diesels, with Fairline estimating 36 knots; later options included KAD300 and D6-310 or D6-350 diesels. Power & Motoryacht tested a 20th Anniversary Edition with D6-310s off Fort Lauderdale for its January 2006 issue, averaging 43 mph (about 37 knots) at full throttle, praising the Olesinski hull in four-to-six-foot seas and quoting $449,000 as tested. The tester's main complaint was a cramped engine room.

YachtBuyer reports more than 299 built. In 2026 European listings for 2001 to 2006 boats ran from about 95,000 to 180,000 euros, so expect roughly $110,000 to $200,000 in the US.

What the new boat costs to buy and run

MBY called the Targa 40 expensive for its sector and warned that critical options can lift the 566,000-pound base price by 50 percent. Its test boat came to around a million pounds with VAT, yet the reviewer felt the price was broadly justified by the build, design discipline and deck space.

Budget around $35,000 to $70,000 a year in the US for a 40-foot slip, insurance on a near-million-dollar boat, Volvo D6 servicing, drive maintenance, canvas and the electric sunroof. Early depreciation will be steep, so a 2024 or 2025 boat with the key options can be a good buy.