It has been said, far too often by far too many, that Riva is the Ferrari of speedboats. Hyperbole, surely, a well worn phrase to catch a wider audience. Please, enough, we say. But there is something here, enough to warrant a closer look and an excuse to write an article about Rivas.

When viewing a Riva speedboat from the 1950s one can't help to think about the craft in terms of Ferraris of the same vintage. The feeling is subjective, almost ethereal. Just look at it. The lines, the intent, the quality, the exclusivity, the power and, of course, the glory of a mahogany Riva bring forth images of perhaps a Ghia showcar. The Ghia Gilda, 0473SA, built for Bob Wilke comes to mind, or in some cases a 250GT California; it is difficult to envisage the most appropriate Ferrari. But the evocation is clear.

A Long History
The Riva company is far older than Ferrari. In 1842, a young man from Sarnico by the name of Pietro Riva started to repair boats damaged from storms which occurred on the nearby Lake d'Iseo.

This blossomed into a shipyard which built high quality boats. This legacy of quality established by the first Riva continues to this day. Pietro's son Ernesto took over the company in 1880, maintaining the reputation for quality, while at the same time becoming known for his innovative techniques, including the use of internal combustion engines to power the boats.

Ernesto's son Serafino took an active role in motorboat racing and Riva boats won many international events in the 1930s. But, after a while, his interest waned and his son Carlo, born in 1922, wanted to contribute new designs, many unlike the traditional boats Serafino was building. This conflict erupted in 1950 when young Carlo said, "Hey, either accept my designs or shoot me" (or words to that effect). Father and son worked things out and by 1954 Carlo had established a worldwide reputation for his speedboats, which were heavily influenced by the creations of Chris-Craft.

Carlo Riva
From the early 50s, when Carlo Riva had to beg for funding (Signor Beretta of the famous gun company who owned a house on Lake d'Iseo provided loans to Riva which helped him re-establish Cantieri Riva), to 1969, when labour problems saw him locked out of his factory, the paths of Enzo Ferrari and Carlo Riva were similar. Like Ferrari, Carlo Riva was in total control of the post-war fiefdom he had created, and catered to, but was not humbled by kings and wealthy patrons. Riva once told a King he could not take delivery of his new Riva until full payment had been made.

The list of the rich and famous who have owned Rivas often overlap those who also bought Ferraris: Brigitte Bardot, Sean Connery, Peter Sellers, Prince Rainier of Monaco, King Hussein, the Shah of Persia, Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren, and the King of Sweden, who still owns one today.

In the mid 1960s, during his European heydays, Henry Ford II met Carlo Riva. Henry understood the fragile and difficult father-son relationship they had both endured, and Riva had based his business philosophy on that of Ford. Ferrari's encounters with the Ford Motor company, of course, were not as sympathetic.

In the late 1960s Riva faced another even greater challenge than union problems ... that of a technology that was both beyond his control and yet beyond his tolerance to accept. The widespread use of fiberglass in the boating industry turned his wooden boats into relics. While Ferrari dealt with the unstoppable rear-engined-revolution, Carlo knew the time for wooden boats was at an end, and adopted the new technology. They both faced the future and went forward.

In one way, however, Riva boats were the opposite of Ferrari, and much more like Iso Rivolta... he used American engines to power his graceful speedboats. Ironically, Piero Rivolta is now building yachts in Florida! In the early 1950s, no Italian engine met the requirement of a marine powerplant. Even small boats need a lot of grunt to get through the water. The Ferrari 4.5 V12 had the power but obviously was far too expensive, even if Riva had cut a deal with Enzo. The Maserati V-8 wasn't widely available until the 1970s. In 1952, Riva approached Chris-Craft about using his engines and did so until Cadillac and Chrysler engines became feasible.

In 1969, as Enzo Ferrari sold the production side of the business to Fiat, Carlo Riva decided to sell his entire company to Whittaker, another boat builder. The Riva brand and quality continued, despite numerous owners over the years. Riva is now part of Gruppo Ferrett, and still makes some of the world's greatest boats and yachts. But the great little wooden speedboats are no longer available. Only 3,760 were made by Riva while under the guidance of Carlo Riva. And, like Ferraris, all are collector items today and worth a small fortune.

For more information about Riva, see Riva-Yacht.com

The above article first appeared in, and has been reproduced with permission of, VeloceToday.com which is a free subscription-based email magazine, edited by Pete Vack, that caters for Italian automobile enthusiasts. Subscribers are e-mailed issues with articles on Italian cars, the people who make it all happen, events from around the world, book reviews, race reports, news, views, letters and more.

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A Riva in all its glory - in this case a 1960s Aquarama. [Photo copyright Mario Marchesini]

What Ferrari comes to mind when you look at a Riva? The Ghia Gilda perhaps?

Cantieri (boatyard) Riva in 1922. [Photo courtesy Riva]

A lineup of three Rivas, showing the top up vs top down positions. [Photo copyright Mario Marchesini]

A detail of the deck of the Aquarama provides some inkling of the quality of Riva workmanship. [Photo copyright Mario Marchesini]

Steering wheel may look like it's from a 1950s car, but was specially made. [Photo copyright Mario Marchesini]

In 1964, Riva began to use German VDO instruments. [Photo copyright Mario Marchesini]

In the late 1960s, production of fiberglass Rivas increased. [Photo copyright Mario Marchesini]

The Chrysler engines in an Aquarama. [Photo copyright Mario Marchesini]