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Don Johnson’s Miami Vice 127 MPH Offshore Race Boat Is Back—But It’s Stripped, Broken, and Headed to Auction
Eve Nowell, Thu, April 30, 2026
Don Johnson’s Miami Vice 127 MPH Offshore Race Boat Is Back—But It’s Stripped, Broken, and Headed to Auction
- Don Johnson's iconic 50-foot offshore race boat, Team USA, which set a speed record of 127.3 mph in 1990, is now stripped down and missing key components, being sold at auction with no reserve.
- The boat, once piloted by Johnson and featuring a star-studded crew, including Kurt Russell and Richie Powers, was a serious competitor in offshore racing, but multiple engine failures led to its decline and current state of disrepair.
- Despite its current condition and legal complexities, the historical significance of Team USA as a symbol of raw, high-speed offshore racing from the late 1980s still holds value, attracting potential buyers willing to take on the challenging restoration project.
This boat once carried Don Johnson, the face of Miami Vice, across open water at extreme speeds. Not as a hobby, not as a side gig, but as a serious competitor chasing championships. Now it sits stripped down, missing its engines, its interior, and a big chunk of what made it dangerous in the first place. That’s where things change.’
Back in the late 1980s, Johnson wasn’t just playing a cool character on TV. He was chasing real wins on the water. He had already built a reputation in offshore racing, including a major endurance victory running over a thousand miles up the Mississippi River. That wasn’t a celebrity stunt. That was endurance, risk, and skill.
Then came the big one. In 1988, Johnson secured the American Power Boat Association World Championship in the Superboat class. He did it in a different boat, but that win set the stage for something bigger. Instead of stopping there, he doubled down.
Here’s the part that matters. He wanted his own machine.
For the 1989 season, Johnson partnered with builder Jonathan Sadowsky to create a 50-foot racing catamaran called Team USA. This wasn’t some off-the-shelf build. It was purpose-built to compete at the highest level of offshore racing. Big, wide, and aggressive, exactly what you’d expect from that era of racing when speed records weren’t just chased, they were pushed past the edge.
The crew lineup alone tells you how serious this project was. Kurt Russell, another major Hollywood name at the time, spent time navigating. Richie Powers, a multi-time world champion throttleman, handled power duties at different points. And Sadowsky himself took on navigation duties during the boat’s competitive debut.
This wasn’t a vanity project. It was stacked with talent.
And it worked, at least for a moment. In 1990, Team USA laid down a one-lap speed record of 127.3 miles per hour during an offshore challenge on the Hudson River. For a boat that size, at that time, that number wasn’t just fast. It was borderline insane. It showed exactly what the setup was capable of when everything lined up.
Don Johnson’s Miami Vice 127 MPH Offshore Race Boat Is Back—But It’s Stripped, Broken, and Headed to Auction
A 50-foot offshore race boat tied to one of the biggest TV stars of the 1980s is back in the spotlight, but not in the way most people would expect. This isn’t some pristine collector piece sitting in...
