Bavaria achieved an “as good as it gets” status in the field of sailing yacht sales and production. The yard became world’s Number One sailing yacht brand worldwide, defeating both Jeanneau and Beneteau.

The only road to continued growth was in the powerboat arena, which was far larger than the sailing world. But no sailboat yard had yet made a successful diversification into international powerboat markets (the growth of Jeanneau’s Prestige had been halted by the Gulf War crisis). 

The J&J office was asked to do a study for Winfried Herrmann with the goal of finding the best solution to finding success in the powerboat market. It became clear that a high repetition (and sales) rate—as well as production efficiency—would be crucial to make Bavaria shine. The first model of the Bavaria powerboat line was a 27-foot sterndrive-driven boat called BMB (Bavaria Motor Boats) 270. Automotive design rules were applied, and we got design help from a young Robert Lešnik (who, incidentally, became the head of design at Mercedes a good decade later).

The 270 looked good, handled well, was easy to maneuver, and was very fast. She was easy to sell, and in no time Bavaria built an adequate dealer network and found over a hundred owners in year one. One of the most passionate owners was Winfried Herrmann himself. We found out, to our surprise, that he really loved powerboats—and a trip from his yard’s harbor in Ochsenfurt along the main river to the yard to Vienna was a piece of cake for him.

BMB 270 was spot-on and launched Bavaria into the powerboat markets instantly. The value created by Bavaria production machine helped to made it easy and fast. The powerboat range was developed to five models, and within six years the powerboat division represented 600 yachts and accounted for one third of the yard’s total revenue.