To Be OFFERED AT AUCTIONEstimate:
£275,000 - £325,000
- Originally delivered directly to the first owner by the Riva
factory
- From the final Aquarama series, boasting a modified hull shape
for better handling at sea
- Stored and maintained by a reputed Geneva's boatyard since
2007
Please note that this lot will need to be collected from Geneva,
Switzerland.
The Aquarama was a milestone in Riva's history. Released in 1962,
this model was an evolution of the impressive twin-engined Tritone
and Tritone Aperto models of the 1950's. It was further proof of
the extraordinary capacity of Carlo Riva to capture the changes of
lifestyle in the international upper-class society of his time
amidst of a rapidly growing economy. For the first time, a
luxurious and powerful twin-engined wooden runabout offered a large
sunbathing area and easier access to the water for swimming. These
were two things that Carlo Riva's wealthy clientele needed to
satisfy their increasing appetite for short coastal cruising in
order to escape increasingly crowded beaches.
The "standard" Aquarama was produced from 1963 to 1971, powered by
a set of two Riva V-8's producing 220 bhp. The hull saw some
evolving changes, these were minor as far as measurements were
concerned. Originally 8.02 metres long by 2.62 metres wide, the
Aquarama grew to 8.23 metres in 1966, and then 8.30 metres through
the end of production in 1971. However, these changes were
significant in terms of the V-shape of the hull. After the first
change in 1964 (from hull number 161), in 1967 Carlo Riva,
introduced a drastic increase of the sharpness of the "V" angle of
the hull, in particular from the bow to the first half of the hull
in order to improve its handling at sea.
Carlo Riva had always a very special relationship with the
"standard" Aquarama and he used one as his personal, cruising as
far as Greece from the Italian coasts. He used the Aquarama as the
basis for trials of many improvements to his boat's range. From the
final and most sought after series (produced in 1970-1971), Carlo
received two boats for himself, including the final Aquarama which
remains in the Riva family today.
This Aquarama, bearing hull number 379, was delivered directly by
the factory directly at Riva's Sarnico boatyard in early 1970,
(unusual, as most boats were consigned to authorized dealers) to
Signor Oscar Ghione of a noted Bordighera's family, near the
Italian/French border on the Riviera. The boat was entrusted to RAM
(Revisione Assistenza Motoscafi), the maintenance and restoration
Riva workshops founded by Carlo Riva inside his industrial site of
Sarnico, for an engine overhaul in 1979.
The boat was restored in the early 2000s and was equipped with a
complete set of Aquarama Special instruments. Then, the Aquarama
was registered in Switzerland in 2001 and acquired by a Geneva
resident in 2007 who entrusted its mooring, maintenance and yearly
storage to Geneva's reputed historical boatyard of Corsier-Port, up
today. Corsier-Port made a few cosmetic repairs in 2010 at a cost
of 25,000 CHF.
As a marine surveyor indicated in his report, the upholstery is in
excellent condition and the boat is in good condition as well, as
its two engines have clocked only 950 hours. Selling due to a lack
of time to cruise on Lake Geneva, after thirteen years of proud
ownership, this lovely final-series Aquarama would surely be a
thrill to enjoy on Lake Geneva or elsewhere.
Should you want more information on the condition of this lot and
or discuss the possibility of an in-situ inspection, please contact
our office at
+44 (0) 20 7851 7070 or email Britta Buchmann
at
[email protected]To
view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/lf20.
