Riv a’s aptly named 82 Diva is shar ply dressed and highly sought after but does it also deliver a suitably memorable performance?
Riva’s marketing people have had so much fun over the years thinking up names for new models that it was only a matter of time before they came up with this one. The Diva is certainly an attentiongrabbing performer, as boldly styled as anything in the shipyard’s catalogue, with its katana-blade hull windows and superstructure mouldings that seem to float on top of the tinted glazing of the main deck. The beautiful compound curve of the bulwarks around the bow complement the subtle sculpting of the topsides, while those angled, see-through side screens, slender steel struts and an apparent absence of major structural components lend a slightly skeletal effect to the whole, as if it were conceived by AI androids and manufactured on a gigantic 3D printer. But to show it’s not taking itself too seriously it’s topped off with that jaunty, carbon hardtop.
The Diva is an attention-grabbing performer, as boldly styled as anything in the shipyard’s catalogue
As a design, it’s a tour de force, and having set out its stall so assertively, the Diva’s interior has a lot to live up to. It doesn’t disappoint. This entire yacht is a statement piece, and as its owner you necessarily become a part of the performance. A crumpled dressing gown and comfy slippers will simply not cut it. The Diva demands that your own elegance matches that of your surroundings at all times. It’s not just a matter of dressing for dinner – on the Diva you’ll be dressing for breakfast.
But there’s a fine line between cool, rational living spaces and the executive boardroom look, which comes to mind in the raised dining area that dominates the main deck, with its glass balustrade and a marble table, edged – as if marble were not cold and hard enough already – with stainless steel. Each to their own, of course, and as a styling exercise the interior of the Diva is admirably rigorous, full of uncompromising right-angles and dark, high-gloss reflective surfaces that contrast dramatically with pale carpets and deckhead linings. It was no surprise in such a high-concept lifestyle yacht to see that fiddle rails were conspicuous by their absence.
