Jimmy Monaco was the owner of Big Red Machine and has been in prison,most at Florence Supermax,for drug trafficking and putting a hit out on a female DA prosecuting him. He and Gene Hicks ran that team and also utilized it to run dope along with an armada both stolen and purchased. They were convicted of piracy as well,so yeah,they were pretty wild.

Reading some of the postings, one common thread I have seen is a general unfamiliarity with the history of Corsa boats. There was also some mention of the boat, "Cocktails," and her exceptional race history and performance abilities. Another famous Corsa - which was not mentioned - was, "Hog's Breath," which managed to blow the Budweiser boat out of the water. But beyond all this was, "Miss Italia." Miss Italia was a 7m boat, which ran with a 327 engine... plus ... a few little modifications. She generally ran, at top speed, between 96-98 mph and won every race she's ever been entered. But she was not a Corsa. She was a Martini. She was the forerunner of any and all Corsa boats to come.

In fact, the first Corsa boats were 7m (the 8 & 9 M showed up very soon after) and were cast from the same mold as Miss Italia. When I say, "the same mold," I mean the SAME mold. The molds for the larger models were designed on Miss Italia's basic design specs. Before they became Corsa, they were Martini. Think of it in terms of cars, as when Datsun became Nissan. Similar concept here.

Please note: I am the daughter/niece of the manufacturers of Martini/Corsa/Stuart Angler boats... I was there when all this stuff was happening. I hope my knowledge of the topic has helped someone.

96-98 mph with a single 327 ??? Id like to hear more about that set-up. Drive/engine/prop. What year was Miss Italia racing?

This would have been in the mid to late 70s. When she wasn't involved in a race, she held several duties:

1) The show and test boat, docked at the marina near the intersection of 135th and Biscayne Blvd in North Miami.
2) The first display boat for Martini Marine, in their 1st and 2nd south Florida and Miami boats shows.
3) MY BOAT! Well, I call it that mostly because, of all the boats ever built or manufactured by Martini - eventually Corsa & Performance Plus Marine - Miss Italia was the only boat I was allowed to use on a regular basis - provided it was not being used for any other purpose on any given day.

After having her around for several years, eventually she was sold. To this day, that still pisses me off! Had I known about he sale, I would have tried to buy her from my uncle. I have no idea to whom she was sold or where she is now. If anyone has ever seen her or has any clue what has happened to her or where she may be currently located... please, let me know. Given it has been 40 years, there's a good chance she's either been mothballed or has gone to the happy boating grounds. Either way, I'd love to know.

hey firecat, do you remember this boat.. I think it was used as the plug for the newer corsa 26