November 1, 2022

Sixty Years of Aquarama

In 2022 the Riva Aquarama celebrated sixty years from its inception.  Considered by most as the iconic boat, the Riva Aquarama entered production in 1962 and was produced till 1996 in 769 units and five versions, two of which are the very limited Lungo only seven units, and the one-off Lamborghini hull #278 build for Ferruccio himself.  An evolution of the 1954 launched Tritone, and coming from a design of Giorgio Barilani the Aquarama saw three different Riva ownerships in its production life; Carlo Riva, Whittaker from 1969, and Vickers 1989 to the last seven years. 

When Ferretti Group took over Riva in May 2000 it was no surprise that the first step was launching a heir to the Aquarama with the AquaRiva.  Designed by since 1991 Riva designer Mauro Micheli, this new at the time model followed the iconic Aquarama in style and substance but is build in fiberglass with mahogany covered deck, and still in production today.  An icon from the start the AquaRiva has also seen six versions so far in twenty years production with the latest one the Anniversario launched for 2022 and limited to only eighteen units. 

What makes a machine like the Aquarama special is that in a sector which is dominated by size, the most iconic boat is an eight meter runabout with a cuddy cabin forward and build of wood.  Surely there is iconic super yachts out there, but go in a bay full of large super yachts and put a Riva Aquarama in it and see it getting the admiration of both the trained and untrained eye.  

If you want to car compare, the Riva Aquarama is like a Ferrari 250 GTO of the water, something special and unique which with its beauty has a special place in its natural environment, or as a monument to motor boating in an art gallery.

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