The new Riva sport-fly, presented at the Ferretti Group Private Preview 2020, is an exciting combination of innovative vision and legendary style.

The production and creative capacity of the shipyard, which has continued to maintain its stability and vitality in 2020, has been exploited to the full to realise a sport-fly of dazzling beauty, a groundbreaking mixture of style, technology and innovative materials.

“Only Riva has the history, inventiveness, appeal and inspiration to create a boat that anticipates the future but is permeated by the evocative mood of tradition,” says the yacht-builder.

Riva 88’ Folgore, heir to one of the brand’s top best sellers, introduces novelties in the exterior and interior design, in the ergonomics, and in the materials used, combining them with the classic hallmarks of Riva’s legendary history.

After the launch of the first unit in May, another fantastic Riva 88’ Folgore is ready to attract looks of wonder at sea, at ports and in marinas. The second unit slipped into the water in La Spezia, the shipyard where models in the 76 to 110-ft range are built and which has recently also been used to hold private boat shows for numerous customers who want to visit the new models.

At 26.92 m (88.4 ft) long and 6.31 m (20.8 ft) wide, the yacht is a product of collaboration between Officina Italiana Design, the firm headed by Mauro Micheli and Sergio Beretta that designs the entire Riva range, the Product Strategy Committee led by Piero Ferrari and Ferretti Group’s Engineering Department.

Built from composite materials, with carbon fibre reinforcements in the superstructure, Riva 88’ Folgore is entirely focused on efficiency, with a design developed specifically to embrace materials like marble, crystal glass and stainless steel, but without affecting performance. Turning to the design, the course set by Officina Italiana Design with the Dolceriva continues to hold true: the new design of the hull windows, reminiscent of a black brushstroke along the silver side of the yacht, rises towards the deck and meets an original and innovative hull-deck coupling system, where the stern area makes space for a steel-edged air intake.

The iconic mahogany and steel detailing, combined with carbon fibre elements, epitomises the perfect balance between past and present that has typified Riva boats in recent years. This is the merit of a sophisticated functional design, as can be seen in various elements, including the navigation lights framed in polished stainless steel, or the continuous aquamarine waterline. The walkway handrails are also carbon fibre and steel, with a section on the starboard side that also acts as the handle for the access door to the interior. Making this boat even more unique is the innovative windscreen, manufactured with spherical crystals that result in a slight counter-curvature, a detail that looks set to become a Riva hallmark.

Another innovative style feature is the glass roof in the superstructure, which swings open both towards the stern and the bow, to allow fresh air in either when cruising or at anchor. Under the roof is a slatted structure that separates the interior and exterior spaces if desired. The standard solution is a fixed roof.

The first unit has a Shark grey hull with bright black detailing, classic colours in the Riva tradition of recent years.

Aiming to offer a design that combines aesthetics and functionality, Riva 88’ Folgore delivers a comprehensively redesigned stern concept, with a rear door that swings open into two different positions: parallel to the waterline for use as a 6-sq-m beach club, and submerged for launching and recovering the tender. The garage can house a Williams SportJet 395 and a jet ski.