III.I
2009 SUPPLEMENT:
B
III.I
09
CIGARETTE
B U RNING H O T With three freshly refined models for 2009, Cigarette Racing Team refuses to sit still.
Building an iconic brand isn’t simply a matter of creating something great then sitting back and watching the sales roll in. On the contrary, legendary brands—Cigarette in particular—need to evolve. Customer desires, styling and technology continue to change, and products of any brand that stands the test of time need to change with them. Otherwise, they become nothing more than quaint collectibles. Since Skip Braver purchased Cigarette Racing Team in 2002, product evolution hasn’t been a “goal”—it’s been an imperative. That’s why at a time when most custom boatbuilders are standing pat with their existing 2008 product lines for 2009, Cigarette is releasing refined versions of four of outstanding models. All four will be introduced at the 2009 Miami International Boat Show in February. With repeat customers the foundation of Cigarette Racing Team’s business, the company looks and listens closely to its clients for innovation and improvement of existing models. The proof of that approach can be found in the “refined-for2009” 39 Top Gun Unlimited “Concept,” 44 Poker Run, the 49 Grand Sport—winner of Powerboat magazine 2007 New Model of the Year award—and the 49 Grand Sport Diesel.
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
t III.I
thirty nine PUSHING
THE ENVELOPE Shortly after it was introduced the 39 Top Gun became Cigarette’s biggest seller. Braver and his team didn’t want to “mess with success,” but they did want to offer something different for 2009. The 39 Top Gun “Concept” is exactly what its name implies, a concept model that boasts major changes but doesn’t go over the top. The most obvious changes are the driver’s and passenger’s consoles where Cigarette added billet Cigarette logos and color-matched dash panels with striking backlit lettering.
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
thirty-nine top gun unlimited III.I
“The console are refined,” says Tim Gallagher of Cigarette Racing Team. “The ‘expected’ look is still there—it won’t shock people—but we twisted things a little bit to improve it.” Cigarette didn’t merely redesign the 39 Top Gun’s upholstery in what it’s calling the “Daytona” package—think classic Ferrari aesthetics—Braver and company actually met with executives from a noted fabric supplier to create the Soft Touch upholstery to fabric. Exclusive to Cigarette Racing Team, the
fabric is uncommonly soft yet extraordinarily durable. As Cigarette did with the dash, the builder used billet to create seat frames, hatch lift arms and the boat’s swim platform. Billet is even used for the speaker grills, head unit and MP3 player docking station in the upgraded Kenwood stereo system, which is equipped with 10 JL Audio speakers. Four billet fender holders and a billet step are included in the
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
engine compartment, which is illuminated by blue LED fixtures. Cabin upgrades include color-matched blue acrylic surfaces for the cabin door entry frame, countertops and even the lid to the cooler. Also color-matched to the blue acrylic, is boat’s removable lay-in carpet in the cabin and cockpit. Yet another noteworthy feature in the 39 Top Gun “Concept” is a Garmin 5208 Touch Screen GPS unit. Cigarette wisely stuck with its original standard power choice in the form twin staggered Mercury Racing 700SCi engines III.I
for 2009. And why not? With the engines hooked up to NXT1 drives, the reliable propulsion package pushes the boat to 105 mph. “With the 39 Top Gun ‘Concept,’ we’re trying to get opinions on the new design changes and concepts, such as the consoles and various uses of billet, we’re trying to bring forth, just to see what people like,” says Tim Gallagher of Cigarette Racing Team. “We’ll still build the 39 Top Gun in the standard vision, but this is a centerpiece that shows our willingness to improve our products.”
thirty-nine top gun unlimited
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
10 III.I
thirty-nine top gun unlimited
Length: 38’ 9” Beam: 8’ Height: 6’ 2” Freeboard: 41” Static Draft: 27” Fuel Capacity: 227 Gallons Weight: 9,900 lbs
Standard Engines: Twin Mercury Racing 700 SCi, NXT1 Dry Sump Drives, 5 Blade #6 Props Optional Engines: Twin Mercury Racing 600 SCi (CE Certified) Bravo One XR Sportmaster Short, with ITS Transom
Twin Mercury Racing 662 SCi (CE Certified) NXT1 Dry Sump Drives, 5 Blade #6 Props Twin Mercury Racing 850 SCi, #6 Dry Sump Drives Twin Mercury Racing 1075 SCi #6 Dry Sump Drives SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
11
forty four POK ER RUN
STUNNER It’s safe to say that Braver, Rodriguez, Lorow and Gallagher and the rest of Cigarette’s leadership team attend their fair share—and probably more than their fair share—of poker runs. And if they’ve
learned one thing in their travels to various runs, it’s that a poker run boat cannot attract too much attention. It simply isn’t possible.
12 III.I
y SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
13
forty-four poker run
Enter the stunning 2009 44 Poker Run Edition. The cabin-less, sit-down 44-footer is dressed in Flat Matte and gloss finishes, then accented with vibrant candy colors—and the results are breathtaking. If poker runs are indeed “see and be seen” events, owners and guests of the 44 Poker Run Edition, not to mention the boat itself, will be hard to miss.
14 III.I
The 44 Poker Run Edition is set up with five plush bucket and an effective wraparound windshield that keeps the breeze, which could be considerable given that the boat tops 130 mph with a pair of 1075SCi engines with No. 6 dry sump drives from Mercury Racing, off everyone. Each seat is accented in black Alcantara leather.
Length: 44’ Beam: 8’ Fuel Capacity: 300 Gallons Weight: 11,000 lbs
Engines: Twin Mercury Racing 1075 SCi, #6 Dry Sump Drives
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
15
16 III.I
For two-person, “offshore-racing-style” operation, the model can be throttled from either the driver’s or co-pilot’s slot. Control for the standard Mercury 380-S K-planes are also at both locations. The same billet-laden Kenwood stereo system, complete with an MP3 player dock and eight JL Audio speakers, you’ll find in the 39 Top Gun “Concept” is standard in the 44 Poker Run
18 III.I
Edition. To keep drivers in-the-know about what’s happening with the boat’s combined 2,150 hp, the dash is equipped with a Mercury Smart Craft Race Edition display. A Garmin 12” Touch Screen GPS makes getting where you’re going a breeze, and backlit panels make the accessory switches easy to find.
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
19
forty nine Utility
Player Brand loyalty that is second to none in the custom, high-performance V-bottom world has enabled the people at Cigarette to carefully monitor and respond to the changing needs of their customers. What was perfect for Cigarette customers when they didn’t have kids and their weekends were their own, doesn’t necessarily meet their needs as they mature and build families.
20 III.I
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
21
forty-nine grand sport
And yet none of them wanted to give up vaunted Cigarette performance or styling for expanded utility. The brand was built on those two qualities—they’re what attracted those loyal customers in the first place. Certainly, the folks at Cigarette could create a product that would “do it all.” Not surprisingly, they could and at the 2007 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show they introduced the 49 Grand Sport. The wide-beam—we’re talking 10 feet—model, which looked like a cross between a typically sexy Cigarette Vbottom and a brawny utility boat, was an instant hit. The 18,500-pound boat, which runs 83 mph on pair 850-hp engines from Mercury Racing (now that’s efficiency), 22 III.I
dazzled the Powerboat magazine, and in its debut year earned the publication’s New Model of the Year award. Most builders would have called it good at that point and move on to the next project. But Cigarette isn’t most builders. The people at the company solicited comments about the 49 Grand Sport from dealers, customers and potential customers. Among the things they learned was that getting into the 49footer’s deep cockpit from the rear deck was a little difficult. The solution for the 2009 version of the model? Add a molded “stairwell” between the two sets of rear bench seats. Like the
bolsters ahead of it, the bench has the “Daytona”styling and is upholstered in UltraLeather. With six feet of headroom, and a stand-up bathroom with a separate shower and airconditioning—a Westerbeke 3.0-kilowatt generator is offered— the 49-footer boasts what is arguably the most opulent cabin of any offering in the Cigarette line. Among the myriad of features in the cabin are an easily accessible drawer refrigerator, wood cabinetry, and DVD player and flat screen monitor and adjustable mood lighting.
But Cigarette wasn’t done, as the crew there had learned something else from listening to their existing customers about their changing boat-use patterns. “The lifestyles of a lot of our customers who’d had 38-, 42- and even 46-foot Cigarettes had changed to the point where they wanted to do longer-range cruising,” says Gallagher. “ But they still want that Cigarette look and performance.” So at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show in November, 2008, Cigarette introduced the 49 Grand Sport Diesel with twin 600-hp Cummins diesel engines and anti-corrosiontreated Mercury Racing No. 6 dry-sump SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
23
forty-nine grand sport
24 III.I
drives. Though the buyer for the first model chose a fourbucket bench over the stairwell-divided, two-by-two rear bench in the 2009 gasoline-powered version, Cigarettes plans to offer both models with the clever stairwell access setup. The cabins of both models are virtually identical. Both models also are equipped with 12-inch Garmin Touch Screen GPS units on the driver’s and co-pilot’s consoles, as well LED lighting and fender holders in the engine compartment. For better access to the foredeck, Cigarette created an opening center section in 49-footer’s windshield, which it also made taller for 2009. Like all of the other refinements, the modification was a direct result of customer feedback. Heading into 2009 with four refined models, Cigarette clearly is not content to rest on its reputation. “We listen to our customers very, very carefully,” says Braver. “They are our bread-and-butter, and we pay close attention to what they have to say. That’s something we’ll never stop.”
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
25
26 III.I
forty-nine grand sport SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
27
forty-nine grand sport
28 III.I
forty-nine grand sport And yet none of them wanted to give up vaunted Cigarette performance or styling for expanded utility. The brand was built on those two qualities—they’re what attracted those loyal customers in the first place. Certainly, the folks at Cigarette could create a product that would “do it all.” Not surprisingly, they could and at the 2007 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show they introduced the 49 Grand Sport. The wide-beam—we’re talking 10 feet—model, which looked like a cross between a typically sexy Cigarette V-bottom and a brawny utility boat, was an instant hit. The 18,500-pound boat, which runs 83 mph on pair 850-hp engines from Mercury Racing (now that’s efficiency), dazzled the Powerboat magazine, and in its
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
29
30 III.I
forty-nine grand sport Length: 49’ Beam: 10’ Height: 9’ Total Bridge Clearance: 7’ Freeboard: 52”, 58” with Windshield Static Draft: 36” Headroom: 6’ Fuel Capacity: 400 Gallons Fresh Water: 50 Gallons Weight: 19,200 lbs (w/ 850 SCi) 21,000 lbs (w/ 600 Cummins Diesel) Standard Engines: Twin 600 Cummins Diesel, #6 Dry Sump Drives Optional Engines: Twin Mercury Racing 850 SCi, #6 Dry Sump Drives Twin Mercury Racing 1075 SCi #6 Dry Sump Drives
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
31
32 III.I
SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
33
34 III.I
forty-nine grand sport SMOKIN’ MAGAZINE
35
36 III.I