WATER WAY TO TRAVEL

In 1933, Niniette III set a World Water Speed Record. In 2022, John Simister braves the newly restored Bugatti-powered hydroplane

- John Simister

A straight-eight Bugatti engine, supercharged. A wooden boat about 15ft long, the single occupant of which kneels on the rearmost extremity, apparently a little below water level. A world speed record set in 1933. And all these things combined in one - somewhat intimidating - artefact.

These are among the ingredients whipped up in the mixing bowl that is my head as I steel myself to push the throttle lever forward and, in doing so, regain the ability to steer at the expense of an increased rate of arrival of the lake's far shore. But I have to do it; I owe it to you, the reader, because not many other writers are ever likely to get the chance to streak across the water in Niniette III, commissioned by Prince Carlo Ruspoli for his attempt on the World Water Speed Record for 1.5-litre power boats on Lake Como in November 1933.

Niniette was the nickname of Ettore Bugatti's second daughter, Lidia. There were, most Bugatti experts agree, five water-borne Niniettes, plus sixth Bugatti-engined powerboat (skinned in aluminium and built by a different boatbuilder) that might or might not have borne the name. This third of the line is the only one left, the others having met their end in a wartime US bombing raid on the outskirts of Venice, where they were stored. And nowadays there is a modern 'Bugatti Niniette' superyacht, built by Palmer Johnson.

Ruspoli's new record speed was 93.305km/h, or 57.989mph. That's fast for a small boat. It's actually a 'one-step' hydroplane, its underside beginning with a conventional keel shape at the prow but changing to a flat bottom about a third of the way along. This shape causes the prow to rise as soon as you're moving beyond walking (or fast-swimming) pace, followed by a rise of the stern beyond 20 knots (23mph) or so. That's the hydroplaning part, minimising water-drag aft of the step.