Collaboration Revives A Famed Lamborghini-Themed MTI Catamaran

Originally owned by New York native and Florida-based exotic powerboat fan Gino Gargiulo, a 2017 model-year 52-foot catamaran is now the property of Klay South and will be a fixture at Kentucky’s Lake Cumberland. But wherever it goes, the Lamborghini-themed catamaran will turn heads thanks to Denny Kirkland of Custom Performance in Somerset, Ky., Phil Hess of Upstate Powerboat in Auburn, N.Y., and Nick Mayden of Mayden Design Co. of Foristell, Mo.

Owned by Klay South, the completely renovated MTI catamaran was finished in time for the 2024 Lake Cumberland Poker Run last September.

Powered by twin 1550/1350 engines from Mercury Racing, the cat needed substantial renovation when it arrived at Custom Performance in early 2024. The job scope included fiberglass body work, paint, a new windshield and complete interior replacement. Its quad-cam four-valve turbocharged engines were due for refreshment.

Kirkland, who managed the project from start to finish, gutted the catamaran and sent the hull to Hess for body work and paint. He also sent the cat’s dual-calibration engines to Mercury Racing.

Mayden, in turn, began creating a new interior for the 52-footer.

Custom Performance gutted the Lamborghini-themed MTI cat before it went to Upstate Powerboat.

“Denny and his crew pulled it apart, right down to the dash, windshield and interior—all of it,” Hess said. “We fixed a vast amount of cracking—some 200 hours’ worth—before repainting the cat. We got the boat mid-January and delivered it back to Denny early August. It was a full seven-month effort at our shop. The anticipation was a three- to four-month project. But with most renovation projects it’s what’s underneath that is the issue. I dream of getting blank canvas’s and fresh boats and not dealing with weeks and months of ‘undoing.’

“Every boat, it seems, is an onion,” he continued, the chuckled. “The more you peel, the more you cry—it was super-involved. Denny and I would be lying if we said there were not countless heated phone calls, but the outcome was spectacular. The boat was a mess, but it was a real joy to do the project and to get our hands on a nostalgic boat like that from what I call a ‘bygone era’ of the powerboat scene.”

Once the engines were removed, Kirkland sent them to Mercury Racing for updates and—once returned to his shop—reinstalled them.

Mayden also had his work cut out for him.

“Denny removed the interior and sent it all to us,” he recalled. “We stripped off all the worn-out vinyl and Alcantara materials. We redesigned the seats a bit and covered everything with Cool Touch vinyl and CNC-stitched Alcantara. The dash, side panels and window line were re-covered with Cool Touch material.”

The 52-footer’s body renovation, prep and paintwork by Upstate Powerboat were extensive.

Once all the updated pieces—hull and deck, interior and engines—were back at Custom Performance, Kirkland and his team began reassembly. Dan Fitzpatrick of Cove Out Decking handled the installation of the catamaran’s new SeaDek flooring on the cockpit.

“I would say we were pushing every bit of 400 hours from initial teardown to reassembly,” Kirkland recalled.