When the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show opens tomorrow, the general public will get its first up-close look at a new Victory VTX 32 sport catamaran built by the Dubai-based Victory offshore racing team. The 32-footer—the first offering in an Ocke Mannerfelt-designed sport cat line that will include a 27-footer and a 34-footer—is powered by twin Mercury Racing Verado 400R outboard engines.

The first Victory team-built sport catamaran to debut in the United States, this 32-footer will be on display at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show through Nov. 4 before heading to Key West (click image to enlarge).

According to Victory team representative Ricky Maldonado, the carbon-fiber and epoxy-constructed boat weighs 4,700 pounds. Like the other sport cats in the series, it also will be offered with a less-expensive E-glass and epoxy lamination schedule.

“With bone-stock Max Five 33-inch pitch propellers it’s hard on the rev limiters at 116 mph,” Maldonado said. “This boat is unbelievable. The handling and acceleration are incredible—it’s like driving a car. It jumps on plane as soon as you touch the throttle and it doesn’t porpoise or lean hard. It just goes straight like an arrow.

“And it’s super quiet in the cockpit,” he added. “You can be running 90 mph and all five people can talk to and hear each other.”

Following the Fort Lauderdale event, Maldonado will haul the Victory VTX 32 to Key West for the annual Super Boat International Offshore World Championships, where it reportedly is slated to be used as a paceboat and will be available for demo rides.

For closer look at the first 32 Victory team sport cat, check out the slideshow above.

Maldonado said that all three Mannerfelt hulls were designed for X-CAT competition. The next model to be introduced will be the 34-footer, followed by the 27-foot version.

“The 27-foot Victory cat will be equipped with the new (Mercury Racing) 300R engines and they’re expecting it to run 120 mph,” he said.

The current plan has the Victory team building the boats in Dubai and shipping them to the United States. Maldonado said the team hopes to announce a United States-based distributor before the end of the year. Pricing has not been released.

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