For more than 25 years, there has been friendship between the great boat-building families of Frauscher and Feltrinelli. So, when the Frauscher shipyard asked to dedicate a special production run to the great boat racer Dino Feltrinelli, his family was happy to agree. The production run is limited to nine unique designs, each bearing a name with particular relevance to Dino.

Dino Feltrinelli was born in May 1903 and grew up immersed in the world of boat-building. In 1908, his father Egidio returned from a one-year trip to the USA full of ideas and started to build powerboats. As he grew up, Dino became an excellent mechanic and soon became famous as a boat racer, too, collecting many trophies between 1922 and 1935.

This passion has now been honoured through Frauscher, the hugely respected boat-building enterprise. The designer Annette Hintwirth was appointed to use her international experience as a set-designer in Los Angeles and New York to complement the design team and help the new boat take shape. In this way, the idea was born to re-design the front area of the boat to give maximum flexibility. The height-adjustable table, for example, turns into a foundation for the generous lounge area or – at the touch of a button – completely disappears into the body of the boat.

Meanwhile, the driver’s seats can turn through 360° degree and, for the first time, real waterproof leather was used for the upholstery. And one outstanding detail is that at a certain speed the wind protection shield automatically rises to offer additional cover for the driver.

While the 425PS V8 engine of the standard 686 Lido Editione Dino Feltrinelli is powerful enough, there are are three additional states of tune which can be specified to provide even more performance. We’re told that the Feltrinelli family will release the individual boats in person to the future owners in Gargnano, at Lake Garda, “after proper driving instructions”.

See www.frauscherboats.com.

Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: Frauscher