The 1960s Riva Tritone Special Cadillac is a classic and the boat world’s answer to a Ferrari 250GT0.
When this cool boat feature started almost three years ago, one of the very first boats to make the grade (the first was the Miami Vice Scarab – forever the coolest boat in existence) was, of course, the iconic Riva Aquarama.
A stone cold classic, one of the prettiest boats ever launched and an absolute icon. But there is one boat that might just out-classic the classic, and it’s this 1960s Riva Tritone Special Cadillac – which, at the time, was the biggest, fastest, most powerful Riva ever to hit the water.
Carlo Riva wasn’t one for deviating from his standard and highly efficient production schedule, so this example, commissioned in 1960 by wealthy Italian industrialist and former Olympic sailor Achille Roncoroni, hull no 132, is a true one-off.
A foot longer than the standard Tritone and built of mahogany, Ribot III was fitted with twin Cadillac Crusader Marine V8s of 325hp each instead of the standard 177hp Chrysler engines.
A pair of 6.2-litre V8s that normally powered the Cadillac Eldorado, marinised by powerboat racing guru Cal Connell of Cadillac-Crusader Marine in Warren, Michigan, they pushed the top speed up to a mighty impressive, even by today’s standards, 50 knots. Back in 1960, when few boats reached 30 knots, it must have felt like warp drive!
The twin cadillac engines are a thing of beauty
A unique lettering set had to be ordered for the hull and dashboard, as the word ‘special’ had never before been applied to a boat by Riva.
On test, Riva helmsman Arturo Savoldi reached a stunning 96km/h (52 knots), a new house record for a Riva runabout powered by stock engines and propellers, and some 10km/h more than the company’s fastest catalogued offering.
In classic 1960s Riva style, the gear engagement is via two steering column levers, the throttles poke out of the side coaming (labelled ‘Gas <- MIN MAX ->’), the steering wheel is a slender two-spoke chrome and ivory Bakelite affair and the white on black dials are by Smiths.
When only the second owner put the boat up for auction in 2013, Motor Boat & Yachting was invited to drive it on Lake Iseo, where Riva specialist RAM stored and maintained the boat in an air-conditioned facility, our man Hugo Andreae bravely agreeing to put himself through the ordeal.
“Effortless doesn’t even begin to describe the effect of all that torque,” Hugo reported at the time, before easing the boat gently up to 40 knots.
At the time, despite an estimated price tag of between €500,000 and €700,000, Ribot III failed to secure a buyer at RM Sotheby’s auction.
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Riva Tritone Special Cadillac Specifications:
Commissioned: 1960
LOA: 27ft 3in (8.3m)
Beam: 8ft 6in (2.6m)
Power: 2 x Cadillac Crusader Marine 325hp V8 petrol
Speed: 52 knots
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