Ferruccio Lamborghini’s Riva Aquarama restored

 The maritime world is a living legend richer with the launch of the Riva Aquarama Lamborghini, which has been fully restored to its original condition. Built 45 years ago for and commissioned by Ferruccio Lamborghini, founder of the superb Italian sports car brand, the fastest Aquarama in the world is once again ready to cast off. A splendid piece of maritime and automobile history has been restored.

For years the runabout was stashed away in the corner of a boatyard, hidden under old tarpaulin and above all, hidden from the world. 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. That is not until a Dutch Riva collector tracked it down and had it fully restored to original condition by Riva World, a world-renowned specialist in the restoration of Riva boats.

Now in 2013, three years after restoration work on the Aquarama Lamborghini began, the boat is back to life in all its splendor and magnificence. Riva World didn’t accomplish this overnight. Sandro Zani, owner of the well-know Dutch Riva restorer, travelled to Italy on a regular basis during the past three years, including visits to theFerruccio Lamborghini Museum, in order to document all the details and elements of the original, before beginning the extensive restoration.

25 coatings

The project took around three years in total, during which the Aquarama was returned to its original condition from top to bottom. The wooden hull was repaired, sanded and no fewer than 25 coatings were applied. The wooden interior was repaired and the seats were reupholstered in the famous Riva design; all buttons and switches were disassembled, repaired and reinstalled; all chrome parts shine again like new and… naturally Lamborghini’s Riva received a new beating heart. A heart that makes this one-off from the past the fastest Aquarama in the world, thanks to beautiful twin Lamborghini V12 engines from the very first Lamborghini ever created: the 350 GT.

“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 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. In addition, Lino Morosini, who 45 years ago was head of the Riva engine division and one of the fathers of the Aquarama Lamborghini, provided us with additional information with which we were able to adapt the twin V12 powerhouses, water-cooled via specially designed closed circuit, so they were completely in line with the original specimens.”