Can De Antonio’s first coupé model make an award-winning formula even more attractive? Alex Smith heads to Malaga to find out
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De Antonio designs feel fresh, distinctive and even a little bit eye-opening
From the moment it entered the fray about 20 years ago, Barcelona-based De Antonio has displayed an independence of thought that has, at times, seemed fearless. It has treated relatively compact sportsboats to a degree of ingenuity that has felt fresh, distinctive and, in parts, even a little bit eye-opening. But it has never indulged in innovation for its own sake. What design segues it has adopted have always been conceived with an eye on how they might improve your day out or your weekend away. That’s how its mid-range D36 Open managed to scoop an MBY award in January, and that’s why we headed to Malaga full of optimism that its newly crowned D50 flagship might carry on the good work.
REAR VIEW
With any De Antonio, it pays to start at the back end because the unique stern arrangement lies at the heart of how its boats work. Like the rest of the fleet, the D50 uses outboard engines – in this case, a pair of Mercury’s mighty V12 600s. But you can’t see those because they are topped by a large sun bed and backed up by a full-beam inboard-style swim platform. At a stroke, that extends the day space enormously, while also hiding the outboards from sight.
To make the set-up more practical, the engines are framed by a pair of integrated cat-style hull extensions, providing the buoyancy required to counterbalance the weight of all that extended stern furniture. There’s also a neat upper level integrated into the swim platform so you can trim the props right out of the water without having to expose them. And ahead of those engines, neatly concealed beneath the sunbed headrests, lies De Antonio’s trademark transverse tender slot.
It’s a very cool feature, providing plenty of space for an inflatable boat and an electric outboard with dedicated charging point. But the fact that you have to manually pull the tender out of its space means your choice is dictated more by what you’re able to lift than what the locker is able to swallow. Instead, if you want to get the most out of this space, it’s best used for a compact tender plus a few bulky extras like canvases and cushions. And if you really want a large tender, then simply reserve the tender slot for storage and pop your tender on the optional hi-lo platform.
If you look at this design concept from a cynica
