Australia's largest luxury motor yacht builder is creating a new dimension in boating opportunities with the announcement of an exceptional new design.

The Riviera 78 Motor Yacht is a new class of motor yacht from the award-winning team of designers, engineers and craftspeople at the company's headquarters and 16.8-hectare facility on Queensland’s Gold Coast.  

Following more than 40 years of evolution and with over 5,700 yachts in multiple styles built and now located in all corners of the world, the 78 MY design represents a distinguished new era for Riviera.

The Riviera design group, in collaboration with award-winning superyacht designer Luca Vallebona, bring a combined passion for excellence to create a sophisticated yacht that delivers a perfect combination of family cruising, entertaining and blue-water passage-making capabilities.

The flexibility of the new 78 Motor Yacht design will allow owners to personalise their yacht to reflect their individual tastes and further enhance their lifestyle.

Saloon and bridge decks extend to the stern

The 78 Motor Yacht be available with an enclosed or open bridge deck and includes accommodation for up to 10 adults in four luxurious staterooms and crew quarters.

The saloon and bridge decks both extend through to the stern of the yacht, offering multiple dining, entertaining and relaxing spaces for parties, family gatherings or quieter moments.

Riviera Australia owner Rodney Longhurst describes the new yacht as "timeless and contemporary". A range of premium fabrics and leathers are utilised extensively throughout the interior, combining with a painted finish to walls and headliners while superbly varnished, finely matched timber can be selected in high gloss or satin finishes.

Owners will be engaged with personalising their yacht from the very beginning of their build, deciding on furniture placement, colours and fabrics and how they wish to best utilise the many spaces on board.

One of the key interior design features is flush surfaces throughout – including the use of integrated refrigeration and icemakers.

Step aboard

The main saloon may include dining and lounge spaces or simply act as the grand lounge with dining focused on the aft deck which can be semi-enclosed, covered entirely by the bridge deck overhang and protected by optional clears. The large U-shape galley, with twin ovens, four-burner hob, comprehensive refrigeration and storage capabilities, has been positioned as a centrepiece of the entertaining spaces.

An internal timber staircase leads from the port side of the main saloon to the bridge deck which also offers lounge, entertaining and dining spaces. A bar is built into the aft deck and a day head is optional.

The highly versatile foredeck offers a number of entertaining layouts and a Euro sun awning with the option to carry a tender or jetski and davit.

An elegant curved timber staircase from the forward end of the main saloon leads to the accommodation deck with its four staterooms and three bathrooms. The full-beam Master suite amidships is bathed with natural light from extended hull windows. It provides an electrically adjustable king-size bed and extended his-and-hers en-suite bathroom. The VIP guest stateroom fitted with a queen double bed and also benefiting from hull windows is forward, with an en-suite bathroom. The port stateroom offers the option of a double bed or twin beds that can slide together. The starboard stateroom includes two single cross-over berths. A third bathroom is shared and can act as a day head. 

Two doors are built into the exterior of the transom. A separate door on the starboard side provides access to the stand-up engine room and crew quarters. A larger door on the port side lifts to reveal a garage for water sports, diving and fishing equipment. A convenient shower is built into the underside of the door.

The unique teak-laid swim platform was developed in co-operation with Opacmare to provide a three-step design that can be lowered into the water to make access simple both for swimming and launching water sports equipment. A swim ladder is incorporated into the side of the platform.

The power to cruise

Power for this magnificent new motor yacht will come from twin MAN turbo diesel engines delivering up to 1,550 hp (1,140kW) each through Twin Disc Quickshift gearboxes and Express Joystick System with integrated station-hold Express Positioning System.

With 10,200 litres of fuel available, she is capable of cruising for more than 1,000 nautical miles or offer speed around 30 knots.

The yacht includes Humphree carbon fibre fin stabilisation.

Riviera is now providing even greater peace of mind by increasing the Structural Limited Warranty on Riviera motor yachts by an additional two years to seven years. The warranty covers seven years or up to 2,800 hours of boating, whichever comes first, once the owner takes delivery of their new motor yacht from the Riviera dealer representative.

The company has also extended its one-year Express Limited Warranty, which covers all non-structural components, to two years.

Riviera motor yachts powered by MAN engines enjoy a five-year limited mechanical warranty for up to 2,500 hours of operation. The MAN Gold Standard Premium covers all MAN branded engines and engine room components.

Owner personalisation

Five of these unique motor yachts have already been ordered ahead of her official announcement as Riviera owners have sought a flagship motor yacht experience with the renowned Riviera build quality and owner support.

One couple, Jacky and Rudi in Thailand, began their journey with Riviera in 2008 with a sea trial aboard an Offshore Express model. In 2016 they returned to Australia and were drawn to the 68 Sports Motor Yacht.

Rudi said she simply loved the "feel" of the yacht, especially the foredeck lounge.

The couple rarely spend time in marinas and the heat of Thailand further encouraged their time on the foredeck with the cooling breezes.

Jacky said they took delivery and cruised to the Whitsunday islands in northern Queensland before shipping her to their home at Phuket.

After cruising extensively though the waters of Thailand and then Myanmar, they imagined a new larger yacht on which they could include a wide range of their own bespoke elements. They were introduced to the concept of the 78 Motor Yacht.

"The opportunities to personalise the interior of the 78 Motor Yacht was particularly attractive," said Jacky. "It will allow us to make it very much our own yacht. We enjoyed immensely our time on the 68 Sports Motor Yacht and we learned a great deal by asking ourselves - what if and wouldn't it be wonderful to have . . . . The 78 delivers on those desires."

Rudi is particularly excited about the exterior styling of the yacht.

"I love the impression of a single long window sweeping forward from amidships. And I love the aft deck covered all the way to the stern. It's really just like a superyacht."

Queenslanders Paul and Emma Weel are not new to the boating lifestyle. Their boating experience began with wake-boarding in 2002. 

2016 was the year R Marine dealer representatives and friends Randall and Melinda Jones were conducting an Experience trip to Lady Musgrave atoll at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Paul and Emma were excited by the trip and decided to purchase their own Riviera so that they could join in. It would give their two young daughters the opportunity to fully participate in a new adventure. 

They purchased a 4700 Sport Yacht and immediately fell in love with the alfresco cruising lifestyle, so much so that, for Christmas that year, they purchased for the family a new Riviera 5400 Sport Yacht and were out on the water on Boxing Day.

A little more than a year later they moved-up to a 6000 Sport Yacht with the additional accommodation space for family and friends. ' Grey Goose’ the Riviera 6000 has spent a majority of its time exploring the Whitsunday Islands.

"Each step we take has expanded our horizons and taught us of the possibilities, particularly for our girls," explained Paul. "They are experiencing so much that many young people never know - wide open spaces, snorkelling and diving on coral reefs and simply getting away from the city life. The view of the world from the water is wonderfully different than from land."

Paul and Emma began to gaze beyond the reef to the deep blue Pacific Ocean; Fiji, Vanuatu, even New Zealand. It would be the adventure of a lifetime for their daughters.

"Our main joy is entertaining friends and family," said Emma. "A new yacht would need to deliver flexibility to suit this lifestyle."

Introduced to the concept of the 78 Motor Yacht, they immediately engaged with the Riviera design team, making suggestions that would particularly suit their plans - time in each of the living and entertaining spaces, dining with a view of the ocean.

"We have total confidence in Riviera," said Paul. "The yachts we have owned demonstrate to us that they are practical, luxurious and built to be robust."

The Pacific Ocean calls in 2023 for Weel’s.

With the design flexibilities for owners to reflect their individual lifestyle and personality in the Riviera 78 Motor Yacht, she is set to become admired in the bays, harbours, marinas and oceans of the world. 

www.rivieraaustralia.com