The first Riva 96′ Argo Super has taken to the water at La Spezia, an evolution of the Riva 90′ Argo. Six extra feet that the yard spends not on spectacle but on a millimetric redistribution of volume: the day head moves up to the main deck and releases the guest accommodation below.
The launch took place at the La Spezia shipyard, the site where Riva builds models in the 70 to 130-foot range, and was attended by Stassi Anastassov, Chief Executive Officer of Ferretti Group, and by the designers of Officina Italiana Design. The first hull will make her official debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026.
The grammar of “Super”
In Riva‘s vocabulary, the Super suffix is not a marketing flourish but a method. From Aquariva to the 76′ Bahamas Super, from the 76′ Perseo Super to the 102′ Corsaro Super and the 112′ Dolcevita Super, the Sarnico yard has built the continuity of its range not by replacing successful models but by re-dosing them. A winning design is not shelved; it is rewritten to a different scale. The 96′ Argo Super applies that principle to one of the best loved flybridge yachts in the range, the 90′ Argo, with the discipline that has characterised the brand’s output over the past thirty years: the design is the result of collaboration between Officina Italiana Design, the Strategic Product Committee and Ferretti Group‘s Engineering Department.
“History does not make a brand iconic. The courage to reinvent it, generation after generation, does. For more than 180 years, Riva has set the standard for timeless beauty on the water. The new Riva 96′ Argo Super carries that legacy forward with a yacht that is unmistakably Riva — more innovative, more liveable and more connected to the sea than ever before,” said Stassi Anastassov, who took over at the head of the group this May.
The dimensions declare the nature of the exercise straight away: a length overall of 28.79 metres and a maximum beam of 6.50 metres, with the clean, sleek profile that is the signature of the brand’s flybridge yachts. The first hull wears an Aluminium livery with Bright Black details, a pairing that sharpens the contemporary reading of the hull without forcing its lines.
The stern as threshold
The most visible revision concerns the aft and beach areas, redesigned to make the relationship with the water more immediate. The garage door — which gives access to a Williams 435 tender and a jet ski — incorporates a generous sunpad complete with handrail and cup holders, turning a technical element into usable living space. The adjacent swim platform is fitted with a lift mechanism that simplifies launch and recovery operations as well as access to the sea.
The cockpit gains additional storage compartments and a built-in refrigerator, while the two large sofas arranged lengthways around the dining table receive adjustable backrests: a minimal change to describe, a substantial one in use, since it allows the same furniture to serve both lunch and the afternoon lull. The flybridge acquires a bar unit and mahogany-topped tables, a material that in Riva‘s grammar is never purely decorative.
The move that holds the design together
The most significant novelty cannot be seen from outside. The main deck introduces a day head that the 90′ Argo did not have, and this single relocation is the pivot of the entire reorganisation of space: with the lower deck relieved of a service it previously accommodated, the recovered volume is given over in full to the guest sleeping area. It is full-custom reasoning applied to a production model, and it explains why the six feet gained over the previous yacht produce an effect greater than their measure.
The salon is available in two configurations; the first hull adopts the layout with the dining area aft and the lounge forward, a choice that reinforces indoor-outdoor continuity and concentrates conviviality along the axis of the cockpit. The full-beam master suite benefits from enlarged glazed surfaces and from a furniture arrangement calibrated to multiply natural light and keep the view over the water available even from the bed.
On the lower deck, the standard configuration offers three guest cabins, including a full-beam VIP aft that exploits the newly gained space to deliver comfort and dimensions comparable to a second master suite. The optional configuration takes the count to four, with three VIP cabins and a guest cabin with twin beds: two different readings of the same hull, one oriented towards family use, the other towards hosting capacity.
Wengé and oak
The interiors mark an evolution in the yard’s language of style. Polished wengé is set against pale matt oak in a balance of textures that works on the overall brightness of the space; mirrored surfaces and polished steel detailing complete a sophisticated register, consistent with the yacht’s simultaneously elegant and sporting character. It is a palette that moves away from the warmer tones of Riva tradition without disowning its roots: the contrast between dark and light replaces the monochrome of mahogany as the organising principle.
Engines and systems
The first hull is fitted with a pair of MTU 12V 2000 M96X engines, each producing 2,000 HP. The technical package comprises Seakeeper NG18 and NG10 gyroscopic stabilisers, the Watchit collision prevention system, Xenta‘s X-AID manoeuvring aid and virtual anchor system, and a stern thruster: a specification that acts on comfort, safety and ease of handling, three headings that in the 28-metre bracket now weigh as heavily as performance.
The Riva 96′ Argo Super will meet her public at Cannes in September. In the meantime, the La Spezia launch says something about the production site that built her as well: the Ligurian yard, refurbished in 2024 across 64,000 square metres, confirms its position as the industrial centre of gravity for Riva‘s composite range, the one running from 70 to 130 feet.
