The stuff of heroes, but on a boat..
In the 1950s, automobile manufacturers competed with each other to set various records on land, but also on the water. Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari challenged their rivalry by adapting car engine blocks to small offshores in the under 800 kg category. Indoor waterways are the scene of speed battles that made many drivers disappear. This thunderboat is the fruit of collaboration with the driver Achille Castoldi and Enzo Ferrari himself.
600 horses for 790 kgs
The hull is a "hydroplane" type hull. Also known as a "3-point hull", its structure is made of hard wood and covered with a mahogany veneer. The engine is streamlined by an aluminum profile that ends in a shark fin. Once launched, the hydroplane rests on two side skids and a small two-bladed propeller with a maximum speed of about 10,000 rpm. The whole thing is propelled by a monstrous V12 block from Ferrari 375 F1, developing 600 horsepower, installed just in front of the pilot.
Built by the Timossi Azzano shipyard, this boat beat the world speed record for boats weighing less than 800 kg on 15 October 1953 with a speed of 241.708 km/h or 130.51 knots, on Lake Iseo, near Milan. This speed is all the more remarkable as the pilot has no steering assistance.
The trim and movable flaps did not exist in 1953 and the cable steering acts on a tiny stainless steel rudder. It took a lot of dexterity to keep this hull designed to go straight in this line. Record attempts were made in the early morning, when the water was at its most glassy.
A collector's item
After its record, the boat was sold to the Italian industrialist Nando Dell'Orto, who improved it aerodynamically and continued to race it successfully in competition for more than 10 years, culminating in a victory in the European Championship in 1960.
In the 90s, the offshore is sold to a collector who has the engine block restored by the Ferrari factory in Maranello, which takes advantage of the opportunity to increase its power to 700 hp. At the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix, it was sold at auction for 892,000 euros, and has since been on display at the Ferrari Museum.
It is now being put up for sale again for an indecent sum, typical of a collector's item with the rearing horse. Other offshores were built for Ferrari, but the Arno XI remains to this day the only boat in the world propelled by an engine made by the Italian firm.
