While the name Corvette is most closely associated with Chevy’s flagship sports car, it turns out that the name Corvette actually came from a class of small, maneuverable warships. So it seems only natural that custom boat manufacturers would want to bring the Corvette back to its aquatic roots.
The most famous of these Corvette/boat hybrids was built in 2018 by Gotham Garage, the team behind the show Car Master’s Rust to Riches, where they modified an old speed boat with Corvette parts. But believe it or not, there was another Corvette boat, or rather 40 of them. In 2008, the company Malibu Boats produced a fleet of 40 Corvette inspired motorboats.
But which company did it best? That comes down to two factors, how well does each boat integrate Corvette’s styling and how well it performs as a boat.
The Gotham Garage Corvette Boat
In season two of Car Masters, Mark Towle was dropping off a restored Mustang to a customer's home when he spotted an old twin motor cigarette boat that he had to have. If Gotham could pull off a quality restoration, they could easily expect to flip it for $80,000. After noticing the similarities between the boat and the body of a sports car, Mark had the idea to make it Corvette-themed. All of the bodywork and accessories paid tribute to every generation of Corvette, with Corvette tail lights, rearview mirrors, and even real Corvette seats. To make it even more Corvette-like, they added a custom double rear window over the engine compartment that looks just like the one on the iconic ‘63 Corvette. In the end, the boat looked great and they were able to trade it for $73,500 and a Vaydor car kit.
The Malibu Corvette Z06 Sport V
Unlike the Gotham Garage boat, the Malibu boat was built as a Corvette from the beginning. They gave it the same dashboard, the same seats, and even a four-pipe exhaust like the one on the Corvette. But what really makes this a Corvette is its LS7 engine, which is the same 505 horsepower engine that powers the C6 Corvette. According to one listing, the Malibu Corvette boat is considered the fastest inboard production boat on the water and can reach a top speed of 65mph.
Who Did It Best?
All in all, both are really creative tributes to an iconic American sports car. However, there’s a big difference between making a speed boat look like a Corvette and building one with a real Corvette engine inside. While it's clear the Malibu Corvette is truer to form, it's much harder to compare the two boats in terms of their performance. While they did bring the boat out on the water for a test drive, they never tested the boat’s top speed. So while it's true that some cigarette boats can reach speeds of up to 135mph, it’s likely that the older engines on this boat wouldn’t be nearly that fast. At the end of the day, the newer Malibu Corvette is a safer bet for speed and performance.