Bilgin 243
| 73.6 m LOA (243 ft), 13.15 m beam, 1,607 GT | |
| Technically launched January 2022 as spec hull NB77 | |
| Top speed 16 knots, range over 5,500 nm | |
| 179,000 litre fuel capacity, displacement steel hull, aluminium superstructure | |
| 12 guests in 9 cabins, crew of 18 | |
| Owner's suite of around 100 sq m with private terrace and jacuzzi | |
| 50 sq m beach club, gymnasium and sauna | |
| Exterior and naval architecture by Unique Yacht Design, interior by Hot Lab |
A 74 metre built on conviction
Bilgin put the 243 in the water in January 2022 without an owner attached, a statement of confidence very few yards make at this size. The hull, build number NB77, was launched technically complete in steel and aluminium on 8 January and moved to West Istanbul Marina for outfitting, having been fabricated at the yard's dedicated steel and aluminium facility in Yalova.
Speculative builds above 70 metres are how ambitious yards compress an owner's calendar. A comparable custom project started from a blank sheet runs five years or more before delivery. The 243 exists, floats and is structurally done, and that head start is the heart of the yard's pitch for her.
Scaled from the 263, drawn by the same hands
Unique Yacht Design gave the 243 the family profile, a long foredeck, layered aft terraces and the slender, low reading superstructure that made the 263 recognisable at anchor. Trade coverage at the technical launch noted that her layout tracks the 80 metre closely, rescaled to 73.6 metres and 1,607 GT.
Interior design is by Hot Lab, the Milan studio behind the yard's 50 metre platforms. The headline space is a forward facing owner's suite of around 100 square metres with a private terrace and jacuzzi, an arrangement more often found on boats a class larger. The main deck adds two VIP suites alongside it, and the main saloon is planned around a sixteen seat dining table.
A 74 metre launched on conviction, waiting for the owner who will name her.
The numbers
The yard quotes a 13.15 metre beam, 3.55 metre draft and a 16 knot top speed, with range beyond 5,500 nautical miles from a 179,000 litre fuel capacity. That is transatlantic reach with margin to spare, and the displacement steel hull is the right platform for using it.
Accommodation is listed for twelve guests across nine cabins with a crew of eighteen. A cabin count that generous against the guest number points to flexible staterooms, studies and staff space folded into the plan, which is exactly the kind of latitude an incoming owner can still exploit. Trade coverage at the launch put the possible configurations at anywhere from five to nine guest cabins across her five decks, the widest layout latitude in the current Bilgin range.
Wellness and the water's edge
The stern carries a 50 square metre beach club, and the specification includes a gymnasium and sauna, the wellness package that has become the deciding battleground at this size. The owner's terrace adds a private jacuzzi high above it all.
Because she is on spec, an incoming owner still has a genuine say in finishes and final arrangement while the heavy engineering is already fixed. That is the sweet spot of a technical launch. The schedule risk is behind her, and the personalisation is still ahead. An owner can board her today, walk the actual volumes and brief the designers against built steel instead of a general arrangement drawing.
Positioning for a buyer
The 243 sits in a thin market. Genuine 70 to 75 metre new builds that are already in the water and available are rare, and most of what competes with her is brokerage tonnage carrying a previous owner's choices.
The yard's currently listed completion is 2028, and as a speculative hull that date moves with a sale. For an owner who wants near flagship scale from the builder that delivered three 80 metres, without committing half a decade to a ground-up project, she is one of very few options anywhere. Her closest internal comparison is the 263 itself, and she carries that trilogy's engineering lineage into a package one deck smaller and materially lighter to run.
Motorisation et systèmes
| Engines | Twin MTU 12V 4000 M65R diesels rated at 1,920 kW (about 2,575 hp) each, per YachtBuyer's fleet listing, with the same 1,920 kW figure independently reported by BOAT International and SuperyachtNews in their coverage of the January 2022 technical launch. Those two trade outlets and ilodka's listing put top speed at just over 17 knots; the yard's own current specification page states a lower 16 knots, so treat the exact top-end figure as unsettled between yard and press. |
|---|---|
| Fuel tankage and range | 179,000 litres and a range beyond 5,500 nautical miles per Bilgin's own specification page. Brokerage aggregators YachtBuyer and ilodka instead list 169,000 litres and a shorter 5,000 to 6,000nm depending on cruise speed, so the yard's own number should be treated as the reference figure and the brokerage numbers as unconfirmed restatements. |
| Generators, stabilisers, thrusters, watermaker | Not published by any source found. ilodka's listing confirms stabilisers are fitted but names no make or model, and no source gives generator output, thruster type or watermaker capacity. |
| Engine room and access | Not addressed in any source found. No sea trial or engineer's report exists for this hull, which remains an unsold spec build. |
Ce que rapportent propriétaires et équipages
No independent owner, captain or sea-trial report exists
The 243 has been an unsold, unnamed spec hull since her January 2022 technical launch. With no buyer attached and no delivery completed as of September 2026, there is no owner or crew to report on, and no independent sea trial has been published.
Yotters research desk
Les points forts et les points de vigilance
Points forts
- A structurally finished 74 metre, years ahead of a blank-sheet orderThe hull was technically launched complete in steel and aluminium in January 2022, per SuperyachtNews and BOAT International's coverage of the event, so an incoming buyer skips the multi-year engineering phase that a from-scratch custom order at this size otherwise requires.
- Genuine layout latitude on a near-finished platformBOAT International's reporting on the launch states the semi-custom interior can be configured for five to nine guest cabins, giving a buyer real say over the arrangement even though the heavy engineering is already built and fixed.
Points de vigilance
- Unsold for more than four yearsA speculative build of this scale normally finds a buyer within a year or two of launch. The 243 has carried no named owner since January 2022, and the yard's own site still lists her as available with a 2028 completion, which raises the question of why buyers have passed on her this long.
- Published specifications disagree across the yard's own site and brokerage listingsEngine power, top speed, fuel capacity and cabin count all vary between Bilgin's own specification page and third-party brokerage aggregators such as YachtBuyer and ilodka. A buyer needs to verify every hard figure directly with the yard rather than trust any single listing.
Informations pratiques
| Price | Price on application. No source found publishes a figure, including the brokers currently listing her (IYC, TWW Yachts, Simpson Superyachts). |
|---|---|
| Delivery | Bilgin's own specification page currently lists 2028 for completion; brokerage listings have shown dates ranging from 2025 to 2027 at different points, since the schedule depends on when a buyer signs and how much customisation they ask for. |
| Used market | None. The hull has never been sold, so there is no resale history to draw on. |
| Not published | A firm asking price, generator make and output, stabiliser and thruster manufacturer, watermaker capacity, and any independently verified sea-trial figures. |
Pour qui: An owner who wants close to flagship scale years sooner than a new custom project could deliver it, with room left to shape the finish.