Groupe Beneteau announced on Monday, June 15, 2026, that it will halt production at its Cadillac, Michigan facility and sell the plant along with three American brands: Four Winns, Glastron, and Scarab Jet. For powerboat racing fans, the Scarab name carries more history than most.
The French group cited two factors: a structural decline in the bowrider and jet boat segments over several years, and a further deterioration in market conditions following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March 2026. The Cadillac plant, one of 16 Beneteau production sites worldwide, will cease production during Q3 2026. A search for buyers is underway.
The three brands represent less than 5% of Group revenue in 2025. Over the two preceding financial years, the American brands recorded cumulative operating losses of approximately 30 million euros.
Where Scarab Came From
The Scarab name did not begin in a boardroom. It began in California in 1974, when an engineer named Larry Smith designed a deep-V hull that he named in honour of his late friend Lance Reventlow, who had built the Scarab racing cars of the late 1950s. Smith had been racing offshore since the 1960s – he won the US offshore national title in 1966 – and he knew what a fast boat needed to do.
His new Scarab 29 won races immediately. Smith then struck a deal with Wellcraft, a Florida manufacturer with 20 years of production behind it, to develop and build the hull commercially. The result was the Wellcraft Scarab line, built using then-advanced materials including Kevlar and vacuum-bagged laminates. Smith’s view was direct: “I view offshore racing as a proving ground for Scarabs. If they’re fast enough, safe enough, and sturdy enough for racing, then I know they’re ready for production.”
Betty Cook and the World Championships
The first and most striking chapter in Scarab’s racing record belongs to Betty Cook. In 1977, Cook – who had only taken her first race start in 1974 at the age of 52 – won the UIM World Offshore Championship at Key West in her 38-foot Scarab, named Kaama. She was the first woman ever to win a world offshore powerboat championship. Racing through 8-foot waves, she led from start to finish.
Cook won the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes race in 1978, the APBA National Championship in 1978, 1979 and 1981, and a second UIM World Championship in 1979. She won 17 major offshore races in total before retiring in 1982. She was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996. Scarab, in various configurations, won six more world championships in different classes after her 1977 title.
Miami Vice and Don Johnson
In 1985, the Wellcraft Scarab 38KV appeared in Miami Vice, driven on screen by Don Johnson’s character Sonny Crockett. The effect on the brand was immediate and enormous. Wellcraft’s production facilities in Sarasota struggled with demand. Johnson himself got interested in the boats, joined the offshore circuit as crew in 1987, and in 1988 drove a 46-foot Wellcraft Scarab Gentry Eagle – running three Gentry turbocharged engines with Kiekhaefer Aeromarine surface drives – to the APBA World Superboat Championship at Key West. His throttleman was Bill Sirois, his navigator Wellcraft’s Gus Anastasi. He edged Tom Gentry’s own catamaran on accumulated points after winning the Thursday race.
PBN has covered the Don Johnson championship Scarab in depth, including the auction of his 1988 boat, and the broader Miami Vice connection. Lewis Hamilton also took the wheel of a 1986 Wellcraft Scarab 38KV – you can read that story here.
The Speed Record
Away from circuit racing, Scarab’s engineering credentials were demonstrated at the Vallejo Kilo in California, an APBA-sanctioned measured-mile speed run. Richie Powers and Tom Gentry, in the Wellcraft Gentry Scarab – a sister hull to the production 43-foot Scarab Thunder – recorded 126.382 mph to set a new world record for offshore powerboats in the Super Vee class.
Glastron: Another Famous Name in the Sale
Glastron brings its own story to this sale. The brand’s 1972 appearance in the James Bond film Live and Let Die – featuring a GT-150 that cleared 110 feet of road and a police car in a single jump – gave it a Hollywood profile that endured for decades. PBN told that story in full earlier this year, and it remains one of our most-read features.
From Scarab to Scarab Jet
Wellcraft was sold to Genmar Industries in 1984. Production of the Scarab models continued through to 2009, when the assets passed to California-based Platinum Equity. In 2013 the Scarab name was relaunched, this time as a jet boat-only brand targeting the recreational market rather than offshore competition. Beneteau acquired the brands and the Cadillac facility from Platinum Equity’s Rec Boat Holdings in 2014, for a business that had roughly 150 million dollars in revenue and around 475 employees.
Wellcraft, retained by Beneteau in the current restructuring, was among the brands acquired in that same 2014 transaction.
What Happens Now
After-sales service and spare parts supply for Four Winns, Glastron and Scarab Jet will be maintained until a buyer is found, protecting existing owners and dealers. The Cadillac plant, a significant employer in a town of roughly 10,000 people, will cease production in Q3 2026. Beneteau said it would support affected employees.
The group’s seven retained strategic brands are Beneteau, Jeanneau, Prestige, Excess, Lagoon, Wellcraft and Delphia.
Yannick Madiot, General Manager of the Dayboating Business Unit, addressed the Cadillac workforce in the company’s statement.
“While this difficult decision is rational, we are aware of what it represents for each member of the Cadillac site team. The teams have demonstrated exemplary commitment. What we owe them today is clarity, respect and support worthy of what they have given the Group.”
Bruno Thivoyon, Chairman of the Executive Board, said the group would continue to invest despite the restructuring.
“These choices result from a market environment durably affected by a geopolitical context beyond our control. Our responsibility is to act with lucidity and transparency to preserve our Group’s capacity to invest, innovate and rebound.”
Beneteau generated revenue of 849 million euros in 2025 and employs more than 6,400 people across 16 production sites in France, the United States, Poland, Italy, Portugal and Tunisia.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
