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 bbuchmann@rmsothebys.com