Those curves. That pronounced sheer. The authority of line you only see when a design has formed organically from the mind of a talented designer. All of these attributes and more can be found on the Classic Riva Aqcuarama, and many more from that famous Cantieri. No matter what the angle you gawp at them from, your jaw will always droop a similar distance. The only problem is having somewhere big enough to keep it. Oh, and deep pockets. So what you really need is one in something like one-tenth scale. Like this one.

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This is a Diecast Delights Special Edition, putting cars on hold for a week and showing a little bit of diversity for Motorboat Monday. And I know it’s not a die-cast at all. It’s something rather more special than that. I’ve seen models like this displayed in glass cases and admired them many times before, but this is the first time I’ve been able to inspect one close up. My conclusion? I could stare at it all day long. This Aquarama is one of many different Riva craft, old and new, that Barnet Marine can supply. The quality and attention to detail of the work is breathtaking, as the stitched leather of the cockpit seats and aft sunpad amply demonstrate. Where there are imperfections, they are excusable because any flaws on the model will stand out at least ten times as badly as it would on the real thing. The fasteners holding the Aquarama emblems, for example, are over-scale, put that’s the very definition of nit-picking, when you consider how true-to life all the chrome-finished deck equipment looks. The rich, deeply polished mahogany glints and glows in the light, and all painted surfaces have a the lustre of a Steinway. All the surfaces of the scale model are treated as they would be on the full scale edition, the decking being finished to simulate a traditional teak finish. In my mind any afficionado of The Car ought to have a soft spot for these beautiful boats; machines styled and crafted from the heart in the same way as so many of the wheeled legends we hold dear. A model like this has a place in the collection of anybody who appreciates finely honed machinery, or simply beauty in itself. And attainable? Well, I admit that £300 isn’t cheap. But then again, if the price was scaled down to 1:10 as accurately as the original, you’d be talking about forty grand. Take a look at the range on the Barnet Marine website, and get saving. (All images copyright Chris Haining /Hooniverse 2015)