THE GREATEST SUNSEEKERS EVER

We asked Sunseeker International Sales Director Sean Robertson to select the 10 most iconic past models and help explain why. Editor Hugo takes up the story...

- Hugo Andreae

Nobody knows Sunseeker quite like Sean Robertson does. Having worked there for 34 years and made his way up through the ranks from head of new boat testing to sales director, much of that time alongside founding partner Robert Braithwaite, he is as well placed as anyone to pick the 10 most iconic Sunseekers ever made. The only rule was that he couldn’t pick anything from the current or future range to ensure the salesman in him didn’t colour his selection! Here are his 10 choices, arranged in date order.

SOVEREIGN 17 1969

The boat that started it all had to make the cut. The hull may have been designed by the American Brunswick corporation for the defunct Owens brand but Robert Braithwaite saw its potential, bought the moulds with the help of a £5,000 loan from his friend and founding co-partner John Macklin, and built what is now acknowledged as the very first Sunseeker. At the time the company was still called Poole Powerboats and the simple 17-footer was a far cry from the super glamorous sportscruisers Sunseeker would become known for, but the Sovereign 17 set Braithwaite and the company on the path to future glories.

PORTOFINO 31 1985