Racing Cars of the Seas

Between 1954 to 1975, the Milan-based San Marco boatyard wrote some of the most interesting pages in the post-war history of powerboating. San Marco is the only yard that has extensively used Italian car engines for both its racing and production boats, including those of Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Fiat and Abarth.The yard produced such models as the 600 Del Mare, Giulietta del Mare, Appia; all of them fast and prestigious wooden runabouts of elegant lines and refined details. Like a fashion designer or a famous Italian coachbuilder, for over 20 years Oscar Scarpa, founder of the yard, promoted a tradition of excellence, building with his son Sandro around 600 exclusive boats, each with unique specifications, either technical or aesthetic and beautifully finished. The San Marco boatyard has also enjoyed a successful racing career, with more than 30 world speed records and hundreds of victories to its credit at the highest competitive level, often with Oscar Scarpa in the drivers seat. The book is a tribute to the San Marco boatyards unique contribution to the world of speed boats and cars and reviews its full history. The work is illustrated with a remarkable collection of hundreds of unpublished archival documents and photographs as well as detailed information, such as its extensive production and racing records.