That’s the proposition behind the AB 80 Incentivized, a 2023 build from AB Yachts, shown at the Miami International Boat Show 2024. At 25 metres (82ft) long with a 6.5-metre (21ft) beam, she carries triple MAN V12 2,000hp engines on waterjets, a four-cabin layout for eight guests, crew space for two, and an extraordinary sound system costing up to half a million dollars.
She’s billed as a sport cruiser rather than a sports bridge, and everything about her has been designed around speed, style, and socialising.
AB 80 Key Facts
- LOA 83' 4"
- Model Year 2023
- Cabins 4
- Crew 2
- Max Speed 57 knots
- Status In Production
- Yacht Type Superyacht
- Use Type Cruising
- Vessel M/Y Incentivized
Review Video
The AB 80 was always meant to be at the sharp end of performance yachting. She’s the smallest in the current AB Yachts line-up, sitting beneath the AB 100 and AB 120, but don’t mistake her size for any kind of compromise. This 25m machine carries all the main features of her bigger sisters – triple engines, waterjet propulsion, shallow draft, and fantastic style.
The exterior was drawn by Acube Design, with naval architecture and engineering handled in-house by AB Yachts. The hull is a lightweight composite structure with carbon and Kevlar reinforcing in key areas – a proper race-bred foundation that lets her run well beyond 50 knots. AB Yachts call their boats “Formula One cars of the sea,” and in the case of the 80, the numbers back it up. This is a yacht built from the keel up to go very fast, very safely.
Every AB 80 is semi-custom, which means the layout and finish can be tailored to the owner. One of the early boats had its galley moved up to the main deck by request, another had bespoke décor created with the owner’s personal architect, and American clients have pushed for open-plan spaces and huge sound systems for Miami sandbar parties. The platform stays the same though - four guest cabins, crew quarters for two, high-spec machinery, but the look and feel shifts with each hull.
Fit-out is distinctly Italian: gloss walnut panelling, marble in the bathrooms, stainless inserts, subtle lighting. Outside, pops of colour in the upholstery can be used to lift the darker tones of the superstructure. And while the finish is glamorous, there’s a belt-and-braces approach underneath. Owners often add extra insulation for quiet running at 45 knots, more generator power or heavy-duty air conditioning for hot climates.
Launched in 2020, the AB 80 was the new entry point for the yard. The idea was to give owners a boat they could run themselves; still with crew quarters, but manageable as a high-speed weekender, and yet no less serious in engineering than the 100 or 120.
Step inside and you see straight away how this particular AB 80 differs from others in the range. Normally the galley sits on the lower deck, but this owner wanted it up top – so here it is, right aft of the saloon. It’s a far more sociable setup, letting whoever’s in the galley stay part of the action and making service to the cockpit effortless.
The galley itself is a good size. Long counters, masses of worktop – a bit of a nightmare to keep spotless, but the crew on this boat have done a brilliant job. There’s clever detail in the way the wood curves around the cabinetry, with underlighting that makes the counters appear to float. Storage is tucked beneath, and instead of a full domestic fridge you get two very large, very cold units under the counter, plus a huge ice maker. The size of that ice maker tells you everything you need to know about the AB 80’s party credentials.
Opposite is a day head (an owner request on Incentivized) placed so guests don’t have to traipse down to the cabins.
Forward, the saloon itself is simple but effective. A sofa to starboard, a small dining table beside it – better suited to cards and drinks than formal dinners, and a 75-inch pop-up TV that turns the space into a cinema when you want it. More dry storage is hidden in the cabinetry, with crockery and foodstuffs stowed neatly out of sight.
And just as outside, the sound system plays a starring role. JBL speakers are built in, carrying the half-a-million-dollar setup indoors so the party doesn’t stop when you slide the doors shut.
Owner's Cabin
Amidships is the star of the show, the full-beam owner’s suite. It’s a lovely space, as the bed is big, there’s clear floor space all around it and headroom is tall.
On one side is a bureau - good as a work desk with a laptop, or lift the lid and it becomes a dressing table with a mirror. Opposite is a sofa, with the TV mounted cleanly on the bulkhead above. AV for the cabin, as with all the others, can be controlled from an iPad, so each guest has their own music and TV.
Another neat touch is how the wardrobe and bathroom are arranged. Both are behind the bed, which creating an extra buffer from the engine room. This owner has even added more insulation on top of the standard spec, so that when the boat is running along at 45 knots the suite remains as quiet as possible.
Guest Accommodation
Right forward is the VIP. Even though it sits on a slightly raised level, headroom is excellent – at six foot tall there’s still plenty of clearance. The floor around the bed is flat, so you can move easily from side to side, and storage is well handled with knee-level lockers and a big wardrobe. The TV is cleverly tucked back, and the en suite runs along the starboard side with a chunk of hull window bringing in light. It’s all finished in marble with a separate shower cubicle.
Step back amidships and you drop down a few steps to the lower level where the rest of the cabins sit. To port is a double that converts to twins – the berths slide apart, and even the bedside table can be lifted out and repositioned between them. It’s a versatile cabin with its own en suite and a TV hidden behind the door.
Opposite is the bunk room, which isn't tiny by any means, but very cosy feel that bunks always seem to have, great for kids. Each berth has its own little side table, there’s a good-sized wardrobe, and, like the others, it comes with its own private bathroom.
Altogether, it’s a very usable four-cabin layout. Every guest has their own space, their own bathroom, and plenty of natural light filtering down thanks to those huge windows above.
Crew Space
The crew accommodation is forward, accessed through a foredeck hatch. There’s space for two in a twin cabin with its own bathroom, and the washer and dryer are down here as well. What you don’t get is a dedicated mess, so it’s clear this hasn’t been designed with long-term crew living in mind.
The helm is where the AB 80 really shows what it’s about. This is a 25-metre yacht with three 2,000-horsepower V12 diesels sat in the engine room, pushing waterjets hard enough to drive her to 57 knots flat out. Cruising speed is an extraordinary 45 knots, and at that pace she’ll still cover 300 nautical miles on her 9,500-litre tanks. The numbers are, quite simply, mind-boggling.
All of that power comes through a surprisingly modest set of throttles on the console. At slow speed the skipper uses a joystick – twist and push and the boat follows, the outer jet nozzles swinging her precisely into place. There’s a bow thruster too for fine-tuning the bow. It’s an intuitive system, belt-and-braces for docking, and makes an 83ft, 6,000 horsepower yacht feel remarkably accessible.
The helm layout itself is practical. On this boat the owner opted for two fully adjustable seats to either side, with a leaning post and storage in the middle instead of a third chair. Ahead is a compact wheel and a clean run of MFDs. Digital switching, navigation, engine data, camera feeds - it’s all there, including a view of the anchor so the skipper can check it’s home without leaving the seat.
There is a duplicate control on the sundeck, but that’s just for slow-speed manoeuvring. When this yacht is running at full chat, the business of driving happens down here, behind the glass, with everything to hand.
Aft, the fixed bathing platform isn’t hydraulic, so there’s no lowering into the sea, but the trade-off is a cleverly concealed garage. The entire transom lifts to reveal stowage for two jet skis, each mounted on trolleys so they can roll straight into the water. Recovery is just as simple: clip on a winch and the skis are pulled neatly back into place. The result is a clean deck with nothing left loose to spoil the boat’s lines or its performance brief.
Into the cockpit and on top of the garage sits a large sunpad, doubling as bench seating that faces into the cockpit. To starboard, there’s also a control station with joystick and bow thruster controls, particularly handy when mooring stern-to. The setup means you can step off the passerelle with toys hidden away, engines under control, and a proper lounging spot right above the water.
On Incentivized the cockpit tables are separate and adjustable – they drop down to coffee-table height for drinks and snack, though the yard will fit a single large table if an owner prefers. The smaller setup does leave a huge sweep of deck space open for moving around.
What works well here is the way everything has been integrated. The staircase folds neatly into the design, a fridge is tucked within reach so cold drinks don’t mean a trip inside, and the whole space flows into the saloon through wide, sliding glass doors. The connection between cockpit and galley aft flows into one big entertaining deck when the doors are open. It’s a layout that makes sense for a boat built with parties in mind, but it also works for simple family cruising, for casual meals outside, kids drifting between water and shade and crew never far from the service points.
Garage
The transom hides a garage that’s very much in keeping with the AB 80’s character. The whole aft section swings up in one piece, revealing space for two jet skis. They sit on trolleys so they can be rolled straight down to the water. When it’s time to bring them back aboard, a winch pulls them neatly home into the bay.
It’s a tidy solution as there’s no need for cranes or complicated handling gear, and it keeps all the toys tucked away. On a performance yacht like this you don’t want clutter on deck spoiling the look or interfering with the boat’s balance. Everything disappears back into the transom, leaving the decks clean, the lines sharp, and the performance focus intact.
Side Decks & Foredeck
From the cockpit you can head forward along wide side decks, with boarding gates on both sides making it simple to step on or off when you’re lying alongside a quay. What really strikes you here is the glass – vast panes running down the saloon sides and even sections set into the bulwarks. Standing beside them you get a sense of the scale; they’re enormous. A joy for natural light inside, but a fair bit of polishing for the crew. From the profile, though, it looks sensational - sleek, glossy, and giving the AB 80 a very modern edge.
There’s also a side door into the saloon, adding another entry point away from the aft cockpit. Push right forward and you reach one of the most important social spaces on board. This is where the party happens. A deep sofa and broad sunpads wrap around the bow, all lifted by bright orange upholstery that punches nicely against the darker superstructure.
The atmosphere here is helped by the tech with no fewer than 14 speakers and six subwoofers spread across the decks, half a million dollars’ worth of sound system designed to turn this foredeck into a club. Shade can be rigged on poles to protect the lounge when the sun is fierce, but otherwise this is pure open-air living.
Sundeck
It’s worth being clear about what this deck is. The AB 80 is a sports cruiser, not a sports bridge yacht, so you won’t find a full helm station up here. What you do get is a control point for slow-speed manoeuvring, with the same joystick for the jets and thruster controls that are repeated at the stern. When the boat’s running flat out you’d be nowhere near this space anyway - that shallow windscreen isn’t built for driving at 50 knots.
Up here the focus is pure relaxation. Engines off, Seakeeper on, and the whole deck becomes a sun lounge. There’s a pad forward, teak underfoot, and another sunpad aft. And that’s it – no clutter, no fuss. Just an open, elevated spot to stretch out and enjoy the weather. Access is better than you might expect on a boat with this performance brief. Instead of the near-vertical ladders you sometimes find, there’s a staircase: easy to use, even with a tray of drinks in hand.
Access to the machinery is through a hatch in the cockpit. For a 25-metre yacht with four cabins and a tender garage, the engine space is impressive. At the bottom of the ladder there’s standing headroom for someone six foot tall, though it does tighten above the engines where the garage bites into the space. Even so, considering there are three V12s in here, access around them is pretty good. You can also reach the jet drives without too much difficulty.
The three MAN V12s sit shoulder to shoulder, feeding directly into the jets at the stern which is a very different setup to the shaft-driven machinery most people are used to seeing. And despite the sheer volume of kit packed in, the installation is neat, with pipework and cabling properly routed so it feels well engineered rather than squeezed in.
The specification is high. This owner added a second generator, upgraded the air-conditioning, and fitted a Seakeeper 18 gyro down low. There’s also a watermaker tucked into the bay. Extra insulation has been fitted throughout as well, so the accommodation above stays quiet even with 6,000 horsepower working hard below. It’s a compact space, yes, but smartly thought through and properly put together - exactly what you want on a boat that cruises at 45 knots and will touch 57.
Our Verdict
So does the AB 80 really deliver on that question of mixing superyacht living with race-boat performance? In a word, yes. Incentivized has the finishes and comfort you’d expect at this size but beneath it all is a hull built to run. She’ll cruise at 45 knots and top out at 57, and that’s the part you have to experience from the helm to really understand.
So the AB 80 isn’t a yacht pretending to be a cut-down superyacht. It’s a performance machine first, with just enough luxury to make weekends or longer cruises practical. Add in the giant ice maker, the sound system, and those open decks, and it’s as ready to host a party at anchor as it is to cover serious miles at speed. For now, those are the numbers; the real proof will come when YachtBuyer puts her through sea trials.
Reasons to Buy
- Triple MAN V12s, 57-knot performance
- Cockpit-to-saloon connection
- Fantasitc sound system
- Waterjets give shallow draft and agility
Things to Consider
- No hydraulic lift swim platform
- Glossy finishes are harder to maintain
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Specifications
- Builder AB Yachts
- Model AB 80
- Length Overall 83' 4"
- Beam 21' 4"
- Draft(full load) 4' 5"
- Hull Composite
- Cabins 4
- Berths 8
- Crew 2
- Yacht Type (Primary) Superyacht
- Use Type (Primary) Cruising
- Cruising Speed
- Max Speed
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