At this years Venice Boat Show , an interesting craft made its appearance after a seven month reconstruction by the Dalla Pieta boatyard of Venice – Malcontenta. The boat is Idroscrivolante T108 powered by an Alfa Romeo 9 cylinder radial aircraft engine.
The T108 Idro participated in the famous Pavia –Venezia race between the years 1933 and 1938 , piloted by Colonel Prospero Freri. These were the years that the race was dominated by Theo Rossi ( 1933, 1934,1935) of vermouth fame and Col.Renato Donati (1936,1937) who also held the world altitude record at that time in the Alfa powered Caproni Ca.113.AQ.
The attached photos show the original condition of the boat ,as it was delivered to the yard and the beautiful finished item, the reconstruction of which was sponsored by the yard itself.
The T108 actually belongs to the Civic Museum of Naval Education Milan and will be displayed and stored at the Leonardo da Vinci museum in Milan.
This of course not the only boat powered by an Alfa Romeo aircraft engine probably the most famous being the Sant’ Ambrogio 11 of Achille Castoldi which featured an Alfa Romeo AR RA 1000 rated at 1.800hp and was capable of at least 124MPH.
Details of Idroscivolante T108
Weight 1.5t
Depth 7.95m
Width 2.80m
Skate Width 0.80m
Speed 130 km/h
Engine 9cyl Alfa romeo.
For more details see….
Dalla Pietà Yachts — architettura nautica
Amalfi Coast Charter Noleggio barche Costiera Amalfitana