Beneteau Gran Turismo 40 Test Walkthrough Video

With elegance, quality fittings and sensations guaranteed, the Beneteau Gran Turismo 40 is a sport cruiser full of promise. Join us as BoatTest.com takes a test drive of this luxurious motoryacht:

The following opinions are solely those of BoatTest.com and its test captain.

Hi, Capt. Steve for BoatTest.com and today I’m on the all-new Beneteau Gran Turismo 40; completely redesigned from the hull up to provide a better ride with the Air Step® 2 hull and a more comfortable ride. Let’s take it out on the water and see how they have done.

We’ll start with her performance. This is the first boat of the GT lineup to use the Volvo Penta D6 engines. Usually we see D4s, which Beneteau tells us will bring this GT40 to 35 knots. With the 370 horsepower D6s, we get up to 38.4 knots at 3620 RPM and did so with a fuel-burn of 42 gallons per hour that produced a range of 141.7 nautical miles.

We reached planing speed in 5.3 seconds, accelerated to 20 in 5.7 and continued through 30 in 10 seconds flat. And that extra horsepower will also come in handy when the going gets rough. Best cruise came in at 2500 RPM at 23.6 knots. That speed dropped the fuel consumption down to 17.5 gallons per hour and increased the range to 208.8 nautical miles – all while still holding back a 10% reserve of fuel in the bank.

Now these are respectable numbers, and part of how Beneteau is able to achieve this efficiency is by the Air Step hull. This is a design that drags air in from the sides of the hull and distributes it across the running surface to eliminate surface friction and thereby improve performance.

But Air Step also affects handling. Gran Turismo boats consistently impress us with their handling characteristics and gentle demeanor. Every time we approach a larger wave, we brace for an impact that never comes.

She handles rough water and chat with grace and style that your guests will find comfortable. She’s responsive to the helm and produces a dry ride, at least during our tests, and with only a 5 degree bow high altitude visibility remains excellent throughout the cruise and below.

And upon returning to the dock, we were tossed with bringing her into a, no kidding, tight position at a boat show which gave us a perfect opportunity to test the responsiveness of the stern drive joystick. Not surprisingly, it was dialed into the GT40 perfectly and we used just tiny pulses of the stick to ease the 40 into this extraordinarily tight position. This boat is well enough for those considering to move up from a smaller boat, and there should be no concern about being able to handle it at the dock.

Now let’s go over some of our operational features. A large hatch leads to the front of the engines and all checkpoints are well within reach. All batteries are secured in well-ventilated boxes to the port side. Just forward are the two fuel tanks with the generator in between.

A platform on top provides a place to sit while contemplating the compartment. The fuel filters are attached to the inboard sides of the individual tanks. The feed line has a fuel shutoff valve with a remote handle attached. Directly adjacent is the return line.

Each engine has an independent fuel an electrical system so there’s complete redundancy. No furniture needs to be moved out of the way for getting into the engine room, so there are no excuses for not doing the checks. When more involved maintenance is called for, then it’s time to remove the aft seat and a larger deck hatch will expose the full engine room. Shore power is to the starboard side of the swim platform. Here it’s connected to an optional Glendinning cord rail control just above.

All electrical is controlled from a panel just inside the companionway door. As we move forward 20 inch rail height increases to 32 inches as we get to the working end of the bow. 10-inch cleats, 6 of them all together including 2 midship cleats.

We have a split bow rail for bow and docking and a concealed Lewmar windlass with space to the side leading out to a stainless steel davit. There’s a remote control at the bow and a second control at the helm panel. There’s an all chain road but I would like to see a chain stopper to take the load off the windlass.

Beneteau went with the center console on the GT40 and the double-wide helm seat is accessible from both sides. The seat’s adjustable fore-and-aft, includes a flip-up bolster, and to the starboard side is another observer seat.

Front and center Simrad’s 12-inch NSS EVO 2 display that has stereo integration. Rocker switches are across the top of the panel, ignition over to the left along with the trim tab controls. The compass is mounted right on the centerline of the helm. It’s flanked by two vents for heat and air conditioning pointed right at the driver, a hand-stitched brow just above and notice the contrasting colors.

To the right are the digital engine controls and the stern drive joystick. We’ve got room to put stuff both above and below. And down here we also have a 12 volt power plug. Notice the classy wheel mounted to a tilt base. A foot rail adds to the comfort.

Take a look at the single piece windshield, 8 feet 1 inch across, 4 feet top to bottom serviced by a pantograph windshield wiper with an integrated washer; I would like to see defrosters on the inside though.

Beneteau has the goal of making a comfortable cruising boat that also excels in its ability to entertain large crowds. Well, this test has proven her good handling characteristics and certainly ease of docking. As for her entertaining ability, well, that’s another video; be sure to look for it.

So that’s my full test and performance evaluation of the Gran Turismo 40 from Beneteau. For BoatTest.com, I’m Capt. Steve. We’ll see you on the water.