April 5, 2026
The Pershing 9X Review: When 42 Knots Becomes Your New Normal
Pershing 9X: a 92-ft performance yacht that makes 42 knots usable, with a 38-knot cruise and 380 nm range. Twin MTUs, surface drives and joy…
Read the articleThe Pershing Yachts X Series
The X Generation — carbon-hulled sport yachts on surface drives, 69'3" to 92'2", 42 to 50 knots
You want to be there before the weather turns, before the anchorage fills, before anyone else has cleared the inlet. Pershing calls this range the X Generation, and it is built around exactly that: three carbon-hulled sport yachts that run 42 to 50 knots on surface drives and hold the speed long enough for it to change your plans.
The line is narrow on purpose. Every hull is carbon fibre, every one turns surface propellers rather than pods or straight shafts, and every one puts the helm where an owner can actually use it. What changes between the 7X, 8X and 9X is how much boat comes with the pace — three cabins or four, one crew cabin or two, 300 nautical miles of range or 380.
The X Lineup, Smallest to Largest
Every Pershing Yachts X model we review in depth, in the order owners step up through the series.
Photo credit Pershing Yachts.
A 69-foot carbon-fibre sport yacht built for pace — twin MAN V12s and surface drives deliver a 42-knot cruise, 50-knot top end, and 300 nautical miles of range in a three-cabin, owner-driven layout.
Carbon fibre and surface drives in an 83'10" package — 48 knots flat out, a 41-knot cruise, and four cabins for owners who want the pace without giving up the accommodation.
A 92-foot performance yacht that cruises at 38 knots — twin MTUs on surface drives give it 380 miles of range, a shallow 5'5" draft, and joystick control built for owner-operators.
Don't see the X model you're after — or a brand-new launch? Request specs through Yacht Specs Direct.
Moving Up the X Series
The 7X is the entry point and the fastest of the three. It runs 69'3" on a 17'7" beam at 35 tonnes unladen, and twin MAN V12 1800s push it to 50 knots — the highest top speed Pershing publishes anywhere in the range. Three cabins, three heads, one crew cabin, 951 gallons of fuel and 300 nautical miles at a 42-knot cruise.
The 8X trades two knots of top end for a fourth cabin and a second crew cabin. At 83'10" on a 19'3" beam it carries 57 tonnes on twin MTU 16V 2000 M96Ls at 2,638 hp each, good for 48 knots and a 41-knot cruise with 310 nautical miles of range. Pershing quotes 45 knots for the standard engine package and 48 for the optional one.
The 9X is the flagship of the generation, and it changes what the boat is for rather than just how big it is. It is 92'2" on a 20'5" beam and 70 tonnes unladen, on the same 2,638 hp MTUs — so top speed falls to 42 knots, but cruise holds at 38 and range climbs to 380 nautical miles. Six heads, two crew cabins and 20 people aboard put it in a different bracket for entertaining than the 8X, without giving up the surface-drive character.
Our Take
The 8X is the one I would buy out of this range, and it is the middle boat, which always sounds like a hedge. It isn't. The 7X is the quickest and the most exciting to drive, but three cabins and one crew cabin puts a ceiling on how you use it. The 9X is the better boat to entertain on and the one I would want for a season in the Med. The 8X sits between them and gives up almost nothing: 48 knots, four cabins, two crew cabins, and a 41-knot cruise that is only three knots off the 7X.
Here is the honest counter-argument. If your running is genuinely short-hop — Miami to Bimini, Naples to Capri — the 7X does that job for less money, and you will feel the extra speed every single time. The extra cabins on the 8X only pay you back if you actually fill them.
What none of these boats are is a compromise platform. Surface drives want trim attention and cost more to service than shafts, and every one of these hulls gives up interior volume to a slower boat of the same length. That is the deal the X Generation asks you to accept, and it is the right deal for the owner who runs real distance and wants to arrive first.
Pershing Yachts X Articles & Guides
Watch Our Pershing Yachts X Reviews
Official Pershing Yachts Premieres
Videos courtesy of Pershing Yachts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Pershing X model is the fastest?
The 7X, at 50 knots, is the fastest boat in the range and the fastest for which Pershing publishes figures. The 8X follows at 48 knots and the 9X at 42.
The pattern is straightforward: all three carry similar power for their size, so speed falls as the boats get heavier. Cruise speeds tell the same story — 42, 41 and 38 knots respectively — though the 9X's 380-nautical-mile range is the longest of the three.
What is the Pershing X Generation?
The X Generation is Pershing's range of carbon-hulled sport yachts, running from the 69'3" 7X through the 83'10" 8X to the 92'2" 9X. Every model in it uses surface-drive propulsion and tops 42 knots.
Pershing also builds the 5X and 6X in this range, which we have not reviewed yet. The defining choices are common to all of them: carbon-fibre construction, surface propellers rather than pods or shafts, and a helm positioned for an owner to drive from.
What are surface drives, and why does Pershing use them?
Surface drives run the propeller half out of the water, so only the lower blades are submerged. That cuts underwater drag sharply and is how Pershing extracts 42 to 50 knots from these hulls where shafts or pods would not.
The trade-offs are real. Surface drives want attention to trim and sea state, they service more often than straight shafts, and deferred maintenance shows up immediately in a sea trial. If that does not appeal, Pershing's GTX Series uses pods and waterjets instead.
Which X Fits Your Life?
Tell us how you plan to use the boat — guests, range, crew or no crew — and we'll give you the straight story on where in the X series you belong, new or brokerage.
Explore All Pershing Yachts ModelsOr reach Tony directly: TS@MintedYachts.com · +1 (404) 805-9819