450 e-jet

A garage tender first, a boat second

The 450 e-jet answers one question well: how does a large yacht carry a tender that can enter a protected bay without noise or fumes? At 4.5 metres it is sized for a garage, and the water jet removes the exposed propeller — the right call around swimmers and beach landings, and arguably the reason the boat exists. A 50 kW Torqeedo Deep Blue motor and a 40 kWh BMW i3-derived pack are proven, serviceable components rather than in-house experiments, which matters when the boat lives far from its builder.

The compromise is efficiency. Jet drives are thirstier than propellers at low and moderate speed, and 40 kWh is a small store of energy, so the quoted 36 nautical miles plainly belongs to gentle running rather than to the 30-knot top speed. Plan around short shuttles with a charge between them.

The price, and the builder

€140,800 for a 4.5-metre RIB is a startling figure against any petrol Zodiac, and it only makes sense inside a yacht programme where garage fit and emissions rules justify it. Private buyers should note Zodiac's own alternative — the eOpen range from around €25,200 is where the volume electric offer sits. Note too that Zodiac is a combustion-first builder: the overwhelming majority of its catalogue is petrol-powered, and electric is a line within the business rather than its purpose.