Rare video of a nearly $2 million, 600-hp Ferrari-powered boat

There are times when auction items carrying multimillion-dollar estimates can be dismissed as too pricey to spend serious amounts of time dreaming about. “A toy for a rich man, too expensive to be enjoyed,” you say to yourself.

But then there things so undeniably appealing that they push all other thoughts aside and whisper, “Find a way to buy me. Do what you have to do, kill whoever you have to kill. You'll die alone and miserable if you don't find a way to be with me.”

The 1953 Timossi-Ferrari “Arno XI” Racing Hydroplane that RM Auctions will sell in its Monaco auction this weekend falls into the latter category.

As Davey G. Johnson once said, “You're in a Ferrari, you're in a boat, you're piloting a . . . hydroplane for . . . sake”

The Arno XI is powered by a Tipo 375 Ferrari V12 sporting two carbs and two superchargers. Running on methanol, it should be good for 600 hp.

RM estimates that the boat will bring 1,000,000 euros to 1,500,000 euros ($1,294,000 to $1,941,000). It's a dear price to pay, but for the only speedboat that can come close to fronting on a Chris Craft Cobra, it seems like a bargain.

By Rory Carroll