SCORPION, the top-end design and build RIB company, has announced that it is adding a new model to its RIB Cruiser range early in 2008. The Mk III version of the popular 10m Scorpion Sports Cabin Cruiser is scheduled to emerge from the workshop in late February 2008. She will be appropriately named the ‘Sting.’

The first of these new high-spec 'Sting' custom builds is about to commence and in order to accommodate the busy order book, the M.D. of Scorpion, Graham Jelley, has set up a separate manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Lymington (Hampshire, UK).

It’s all about man hours for custom-built RIBs. According to Graham Jelley, the build programme is expected to take around 3,500 man hours to complete and he estimates that his workforce can “probably manage to build three 'Stings' a year”. The first ‘Sting’ will be available as a demonstration model at Scorpion’s Lymington base from March. She is already entered for the Round Britain Race next June in which at least 10% of the entrants are driving Scorpion RIBs.

The ‘Sting’ hails from the finest of pedigrees and comes with an extraordinary list of accolades associated with the original hull design by Graham Jelley and Dave Marsh:

Round Britain Record
‘ Hot Lemon V’, Scorpion Sports Cruiser, did it again, trouncing the under-30ft World Record for the fastest powerboat sprint around Britain. With the North Sea rougher than expected, the circumnavigation was completed in 31 hours 22 minutes and 46 seconds.

Round British Isles Record
Chris Strickland, John Puddifoot, Jan Falkowski and Gordon Compton set a new time for the Round British Isles Record of 72 hours 27 minutes in ‘Sea Hound V’, a 10m Scorpion Sports Cruiser - 36 hours faster than the previous record.

London to Monte Carlo Record
Chris Strickland, John Puddifoot, Jan Falkowski and Gordon Compton covered London to Monte Carlo in ‘Sea Hound V’ - 2,080 nautical miles – setting a new time of 61 hours and 12 minutes, knocking 2 hours and 3 minutes off the previous record and making this the fastest long distance offshore passage ever undertaken.

Southern Isles Challenge Record
Mike and Dave Deacon set a new World Record in ‘Hot Lemon’. Encompassing the Isle of Wight, Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey and the Scilly Islands and a total 535 nautical miles in just 9 hours 56 minutes, this father and son duo knocked an incredible 10 hrs off the previous record.

So what’s different about the Sting?
The difference between the new ‘Sting’ when compared with her predecessors is that Scorpion is adding a whole raft of upgrades, where such upgrades actually make a difference to the Scorpion ‘experience’ for the owner and/or driver and their family rather than being mere cosmetic ‘tweaks’. Lest we forget amongst the list of racing and endurance achievements and awards, this is, after all, Scorpion’s flagship family cruising boat.

One expects to inherit a superb design, exquisite craftsmanship and excellent handling when you become a Scorpion owner first and second-hand. Whilst the construction and hull design require no tweaking from the original masterpiece, the team at Scorpion are providing a number of innovations to the quality and design of certain key design components e.g. the windscreen, the cockpit seating, the cabin upholstery and accommodation, adding durability, security and comfort to an already long list of tick marks.

With the ‘Sting’, you will also get some great new features including a lockable door to the cabin that will be fully lined and boast Alcantara upholstery; a new curved windscreen that is a higher spec overall, and provides even more protection than in previous models.

When it comes to adding comfort and safety in the cockpit, where once there were ‘bolsters’, now Scorpion is adding sport-styled seating that is electronically controlled to adjust to the right height just for you. As Jelley puts it so succinctly, “people are getting taller”.

In the cabin there is the addition of a twin or double berth, recessed overhead lighting and flexi-teak flooring, whilst in the galley there is a new ceramic hob and cabin heater under an opening worktop.

All in all, it’s an impressive package.
Check out the Scorpion RIBs website from where you can contact them for more details, a specification and a specific quote. You may be pleasantly surprised, priced from £175,000 plus VAT.

Visit: www.scorpionribs.com

Sept 2007