Cigarette Racing introduced its flagship model the Tirranna.
By Gregg Mansfield
Photos by Cigarette Racing
Cigarette Racing has never been a company that thinks small, especially under longtime owner Skip Braver. From iconic advertising campaigns to new product launches, the Miami area builder always creates a splash with its brand.
Its latest splash is the Tirranna, a six-engine beauty that made its debut at the Miami International Boat Show in February. Ask Braver to define the boat and he’ll tell you it’s up to the buyer.
“We’re calling it undefinable,” Braver said. “I can tell you what it isn’t. The thing it isn’t is a fish boat.”
A combination of a center console and sport yacht, the 59-foot Tirranna raises the stakes in the luxury-boat market. Tirranna, an aboriginal Australian word meaning “running waters,” delivers performance, luxury and comfort.
Two years in the development, Braver turned to Italian superyacht designer Giorgio Cassetta to come up with a bold and innovative design for the flagship model. Cassetta said the stepped V-bottom boat was one of the most challenging projects of his career. Braver wanted to distinguish the Tirranna from the offshore and center console offerings in the Cigarette Racing lineup.
“There was more engineering done on this boat than I would say any company our size has ever done,” Braver said. “It was a clean piece of paper and it was a team effort. It’s a fabulous boat.”
The attention-grabber is the six Mercury Racing Verado 400R outboards hanging on the transom. With a combined 2,400 horsepower, the Tirranna has a top speed of 72 mph. That’s impressive for a boat that weighs nearly 40,000 pounds fully loaded.
Cruising speed is 50 mph and with a 1,000-gallon fuel tank, the Tirranna has a range of close to 780 miles, Braver said. The boat can handle any rough seas that the owner and crew might encounter.
“You see the video of (the Tirranna) going 70-plus mph through 5-foot seas here in Miami,” Braver said. “Anybody else that has a boat that big, you don’t see videos like that actually showing the performance. It’s amazing the way the boat runs.”
The cockpit has enough seating for a small army with three rows of seating (one row is rear facing) positioned under the expansive carbon fiber hardtop. Additional seating is in the bow, a chaise lounge in front of the console and a L-shape bench seat at the stern.
Cigarette Racing placed six Garmin touchscreens around the boat, including two 24-inch monitors at the helm. The screens were set in panels coated with an anti-reflective surface and fastened with titanium bolts.
Protecting the panels and passengers from wind and spray was an 8-foot wide frameless windshield with a wiper, which Cigarette Racing says is the largest in class.
Braver is using Italian design company Poltrona Frau for the black and white cabin interior. The 8-foot wide cabin includes a California king bed and a full head with a separate shower. Other amenities include a couch, refrigerator, microwave and a pop-up 32-inch TV. Keeping the boat stable while down below is a Seakeeper 9, which is standard on the Tirranna.
“Poltrona Frau in Italy is doing the interior and we fly it in,” Braver said. “Poltrona Frau is the number one leather company in the world.”
Buyers will appreciate the teak sole from bow to stern and below deck. Cigarette provided an alfresco galley on the swim platform that consists of an electric barbecue, a sink and a food prep area. Visitors will love the access on and off the boat thanks to a dive door on the starboard side.
The Tirranna starts at $2.7 million fully featured with a Seakeeper 9, Braver said. The boat at the Miami International Boat Show retailed for over $3 million. Cigarette Racing has already sold two boats, but customers won’t have to wait a year or two for their boat to be completed.
“We’re prebuilding hulls and decks so that we can custom outfit them,” Braver said, adding, “We have a schedule and we’re building them. You’re not going to have to wait forever to get it.”
Cigarette Racing sells boats worldwide but Braver sees the United States as the primary market for the 59-foot Tirranna. “We’re getting a great amount of interest and inquiry in the brand from people that never thought about buying a Cigarette before,” Braver said.
Cigarette Racing has been known for its collaborations since Braver bought the company in 2002. They partnered with AMG and Ducati on special models but decided to go on its own for the new flagship Tirranna.
“Cigarette is such an iconic brand,” said Braver about the company founded by the late Don Aronow in 1969. “(The Tirranna) is so much different than what anyone expected from Cigarette.”
