Riva Lamborghini restored

Forty five years ago, Ferruccio Lamborghini, founder of the iconic sports car brand, commissioned a boat from the equally-famous boat brand, Riva.

The result was the Riva Aquarama Lamborghini which was powered by twin V12 350hp Lamborghini engines from the 350 GT sports car -- Lamborghini's first creation.

For years the runabout was stashed away in the corner of a boatyard, hidden under an old tarpaulin. Enthusiasts were aware of the existence of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s Riva Aquarama, but didn’t know where the legendary sports boat was after its owner passed away in 1993. 

A Dutch Riva collector tracked the boat down and had it fully restored to original condition by Riva World, a world-renowned specialist in the restoration of Riva boats.

Now, three years after restoration work on the Aquarama Lamborghini began, the boat is back to life in all its splendour. 

Sandro Zani, owner of Riva World, travelled to Italy on a regular basis during the restoration, including visits to the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum, in order to document all the details and elements of the original boat.

The Aquarama was returned to its original condition from top to bottom. The wooden hull was repaired, sanded and no fewer than 25 coatings of varnish were applied. The wooden interior was repaired and the seats were reupholstered in the original Riva design; all buttons and switches were disassembled, repaired and reinstalled; all chrome parts shine again like new and naturally Lamborghini’s Riva received two beautiful Lamborghini V12 engines.

"One of the two original engines from the Riva can still be seen in the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum in Italy, but unfortunately wasn’t available for sale for this project,” explains Sandro Zani.

"That is why we bought two other V12 engines, one of which was in the US, and converted them so they would be fully suitable for use in a boat. Thanks to the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum, we were allowed to disassemble and re-create various original parts of the original engine in the museum."

The result is two wonderful-sounding Lamborghini 4.0-litre V12s (see video below), each with 350hp and equipped with six twin-throat Weber carburettors. Together they give the Riva Aquarama Lamborghini a top speed of around 48 knots, compared to 40 knots for regular Aquaramas which are fitted with twin V8 units as standard equipment.

After a few test runs in the Netherlands the Riva was transported to Italy, where the boat was let loose on Lago d’Iseo under the watchful eye of Carlos Riva, father of all Rivas, the founder of the brand and the man who back in 1968 was himself urged by Ferruccio Lamborghini to build the Aquarama in just three months.

With the completion of the restoration, this unique Riva Aquarama Lamborghini will once again thrill maritime connoisseurs as well as lovers of hot-blooded Italian sports cars.