The Aquariva Special is the first Riva to carry the Special name since the Aquarama, which tells you how carefully the yard has treated it. This is a restyling rather than a replacement. The Aquariva silhouette is intact, the mahogany is still hand-laid, and the changes sit in details a buyer notices from the helm rather than from the dock.
Ten metres, eight people, one small cabin forward. The Aquariva has never pretended to be a cruiser, and its appeal has always been the opposite of practicality. What it offers is the cleanest open cockpit Riva builds, wrapped in varnished mahogany and polished stainless, with a sun pad aft and a helm position that puts the driver in the middle of the boat rather than behind a console.
Twin Yanmar 8LV diesels of 370 horsepower each drive it to 40.5 knots, with a 36-knot cruise and 155 nautical miles from a 480 litre tank. At 5.2 tonnes light it planes quickly and settles hard in a chop.
Buyers rarely reach the Aquariva Special by comparison shopping. It is bought as an object, kept alongside a larger yacht or on a lake, and it holds its value for that reason. European dealer pricing opens at about 799,000 euros, and nothing else in the market does the same job.
