This amazing party was staged to debut an even more amazing yacht

Previous Next

1 of 20

But the focus of the night wasn’t the car, the food, or the music and dancing. The night belonged to the new yacht. Riva’s new 56-foot Rivale is what’s described as an “open motor yacht.” At 56 feet, 7 inches long, the Rivale isn’t a superyacht, because it misses the agreed-upon demarcation by about 23 feet. But as you can see in the video just above when the sleek Rivale emerged from behind gigantic mirror-glassed boxes that had dancers both on top and at water level, it looked magnificent.

The 56-foot Rivale was designed and created by a team that included Officina Italiana Design along with the Ferretti Group’s Product Strategy Committee and Engineering Department. According to a Riva statement, “The goal was a boat with a unique style, excellent performance at sea, and cutting-edge technological solutions.” Riva aimed high and didn’t miss.

The GRP (glass-reinforced plastic) fast-displacement-hull yacht has a MAN V8-1000 turbo-diesel engine. With single-stage exhaust turbocharging this motor is projected to power the Rivale to a maximum speed of 35 knots and a cruising speed of 31 knots. That speed is moving right along, but if you want more a MAN V8-1200 can be substituted with dual-stage turbocharging, which raises the top speed to 38.

The Rivale’s range is estimated at 260 nautical miles with the V8-1000 engine and 240 nm with the V8-1200. The larger motor goes faster but uses more fuel from the 713-gallon tank. The numbers translate to just under 3 gallons per nautical miles with either engine

There are two luxury staterooms, each with an en-suite. There’s also a bathroom near the crew quarters — the standard configuration will accommodate one crew member.

According to Boat International, the Ferretti Group expects to build and deliver 8 to 10 56-foot Rivales a year. The starting cost is just over $2 million.