Speed demon

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HSR-Benelli releases the world's most powerful personal watercraft, and it's a true muscle craft!

At the Salon Nautique de Paris, HSR-Benelli not so much unveiled a new watercraft, as tore the house down to reveal a glorious new world of race bred horses thundering through the spray.

As the established manufacturers have politely leap-frogged each other in the horsepower race, HSR-Benelli has caught them grasping their ankles and given them a firm boot from behind.

The innovative runabout line up, the first sit down craft the company has produced, consists of four Series-R models: The Naked, Pro, Prestige and Race Edition.

The stable sports the same futuristic stealth silhouetted profiles, the same tactile aesthetics and unique styling, but below the saddle lurks a varying number of horses.

The Naked and Pro Edition share the same three cylinder in-line 4-Strokes that produce 142hp and 172hp respectively and are aimed at the recreational market. More experienced riders may prefer the massive 278hp provided by the Prestige model's 2196cc V6.

For the serious buoy racer however only the monster 342hp V6 of the Race Edition will do.

Eschewing the supercharged or turbocharged routes favoured by the Japanese factories; the Austrians have opted for normally aspirated engines supplied by Benelli Motori motorcycles, which Hydrospace acquired in 2007 to form HSR-Benelli.

By combining Austria's reputation for efficiency and the Italian penchant for flair and drama the company has produced both an exciting and reliable watercraft.

This mind boggling leap forward in power play is hard to fully comprehend as the Race Edition is a full 85hp more powerful than its nearest rival, Sea Doo's new RXP-X.

However, comparing it with another show stopper from the automotive world puts the awe inspiring power of the watercraft in perspective.

You only have to speak the words "Bugatti Veyron" and, after mopping the dribble from their chin, every male on the planet will start spewing forth figures that reinforce its claim as the most incredible machine invented since the first horseless carriage.

Tell them that it's only half as good as a personal watercraft and you'll soon find yourself training as a hairdresser because all contact with males will be severed. Buts it's true!

The Bugatti Veyron weighs 1888kg and the quad turbo-charged W16 lays down a whopping 1001bhp. In comparison the Series-R Race Edition weighs in at only 328kg and its two litre V6 produces an arm wrenching 342hp.

Some quick mental arithmetic, or the use of a decent calculator, will show that the Race Edition's power-to-weight ratio of 1.04bhp/kg is almost double that of the Bugatti Veyron's 0.529bhp/kg!

It's unbelievable but true.

www.hsr-benelli.com

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