Riva has always traded in feeling as much as form. Where others chase volume, the Italian yard still pursues line, light, and detail. The new 112 Dolcevita Super, an evolution of the 110, shows the point. It debuted at Cannes and now lands with a fuller reveal that underscores why Riva’s look remains a shorthand for taste across marinas from Portofino to Palm Beach.
The exterior, drawn by Mauro Micheli and Sergio Beretta of Officina Italiana Design with Ferretti Group Engineering and a committee led by Piero Ferrari, reads clean and confident. The sheer sweeps, stainless accents catch the sun like a cufflink, and the hull windows are purposeful rather than oversized. At the waterline, a 378-square-foot beach club becomes the social center. Two bulwarks hinge out to form terraces, an extra-large sun pad anchors the scene, and there is storage for a tender, a Jet Ski, and two SeaBobs. Step down and you hear the hush of water lapping against the platform; step back and you pick up the resin-warm scent of teak. An optional Jacuzzi can be specified in the bow for those who prefer an elevated soak at anchor.
Inside, the main deck favors clarity over clutter. The 538-square-foot salon has real headroom and a calm material palette with rosewood in the lead. The first hull’s owner chose a dining zone forward, with leather-upholstered chairs around a stainless and glass table, and a living area midships with three leather sofas facing a 75-inch screen. The nearly 370-square-foot owner’s suite sits aft on this level, with two walk-in closets, a vanity, a two-sink bath, and wide windows that push blue daylight across the room in the afternoon. Below, four guest cabins include two VIPs, each with an ensuite and the same rosewood discipline. Nothing shouts; doors close with a soft click, fabrics have weight, and metalwork feels cool to the touch.
Up top, a 646-square-foot flybridge is the open-air draw. There is a full bar with a Corian counter that stays cool under sun, a large dining table for long lunches, a generous sofa, and an asymmetrical carbon hardtop that frames pockets of shade and light rather than blanketing the deck. It is easy to imagine barefoot mornings here, the quiet whir of a plotter at the helm, and the clink of glassware as the breeze lifts.
Performance remains in the Riva idiom: brisk, not brash. Twin 2,638 hp MTU 16V 2000s are offered in two configurations. Choose the M96L for a reported 25.5-knot top speed and 23-knot cruise, or the optional M97L that cuts NOx emissions. The draft stays under seven feet, a practical figure that unlocks the Bahamas and more tucked-away anchorages in the Med and Florida. This is not a technical novelty act, but it is current with the realities of modern cruising and regulation.
Culturally, the 112 Dolcevita Super sits at an interesting crossroads. The 30-35 meter planing flybridge market is busy, and the arms race in beach clubs and fold-out terraces has drifted down from gigayachts into this bracket. Riva’s answer is not to supersize every surface, but to keep the brand’s language intact while giving hosts more room to gather. The beach club is generous without feeling like a stage, the salon proportions invite actual conversation, and the flybridge is a proper outdoor room rather than a furniture showroom. The optional lower-emissions engine spec is a measured step. It will not satisfy purists calling for hybridization, but it reflects an owner base that wants progress without drama.
If the Aquarama taught the world how a boat could express style, the 112 shows how that ethos scales. There are larger, faster, and louder yachts on the market. Few will make guests feel more at ease so quickly. The message is subtle: good taste travels. And on this Riva, it does so at twenty-plus knots, with the sunlight glancing off steel and the sea just a step away.
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