X-Yachts X 5.6: Luxury meets performance - photos from the test of the new X 5.6

X-Yachts has really tidied up its model programme. At the lower end, which not so long ago started at 33 feet, it now starts at 40 feet. But the top end has also been streamlined. The previous flagship, the X 6.5, which was first launched in 2016, is being phased out this year to make way for a new, significantly smaller flagship: the X 5.6.

Like all models in the Pure X series, the 16.58 metre long and 4.90 metre wide yacht is a crossover; in the past, it would have been called a cruiser/racer. It can be highly customised according to the owner's wishes - from a more pleasure-oriented long-distance boat to a modern performance cruiser, which will undoubtedly also be seen on the starting line of some ocean classics such as the Rolex Fastnet or Middle Sea Race in the future.

The three available keel variants are just one indicator of the X 5.6's wide range: In the standard version, the Danish yacht is 2.90 metres deep, but she can also go as low as 2.50 metres or as high as 3.30 metres. At 18 tonnes, she displaces almost seven tonnes less than the equally new, albeit longer Swan 58 - with the same ballast weight. It therefore sails more stiffly and only needs the first reef later.

Together with our colleagues from the European Yacht of the Year jury, we were able to test her for four days off the Spanish port of Ginesta, south of Barcelona, in conditions of between 5 and 20 knots of wind, sometimes in smooth water, sometimes in confused seas. She proved to be very controllable, good-natured and suitably fast for a luxury cruiser of this calibre. More about her qualities soon in YACHT and on YACHT TV.

Here are the first impressions from the test. And for those who feel that "I absolutely have to have it" reflex: the fun starts at 1.15 million euros. Rough? Nope! In this league and quality, that's actually a fair starting price.