Cigarette Displays at Dusseldorf Boat Show
Cigarette Racing showed off two boats in Germany, one of which was already sold to a European buyer.
February 16, 2011
For the first time in its more than 35-year history, Cigarette Racing Team brought its high-performance powerboat act to Germany’s Düsseldorf Boat Show last month. On display in the Cigarette booth were the Cigarette AMG 46’ and the 39’ Top Gun, which is the company’s best-selling model.
Cigarette Racing Team had a display with all the yachts in Dusseldorf, with incredible traffic. Photo courtesy Alistair Walton
“Our dealer in Germany wanted us to display, and the show let us do something very, very exclusive,” said Skip Braver, the owner and chief executive officer of Cigarette. “They allowed us to display with the yachts.
“The traffic was incredible,” added Braver. “I couldn’t believe the number of people who came from all over Europe.”
The 39’ Top Gun on display at the show actually was sold to a European buyer. As for the Cigarette AMG 46, the highly touted product of a collaborative marketing between Mercedes AMG and Cigarette Racing Team, there are pending offers on it, according to Braver, but a sale has yet to be completed.
Introduced at the 2010 Miami International Boat Show, the 46-footer is powered by a pair of Mercury Racing 1,350-hp turbocharged engines. The boat was released last year in conjunction with the Mercedes AMG SLS high-performance luxury automobile.
Though Cigarette and Mercedes Benz have a longtime marketing relationship, the boat represents the first time Mercedes AMG—the noteworthy engine turning and performance upgrade arm of Mercedes—has collaborated on a project with a boat company.
