Cigarette Racing Team Under New Ownership

Smoke on the Water

Cigarette Racing Team, synonymous with high-powered luxury performance powerboats, has new ownership with big plans for growth of the company and the future of boat racing in across the globe. Lionheart Capital, led by Founder and CEO, Ophir Sternberg, has partnered with billionaire entrepreneur, John H. Ruiz, to purchase the iconic American brand from longtime owner of two decades, Skip Braver.

“After 20 years of building the Cigarette product line and brand, I look forward to seeing Ophir and John’s vision for the company become a reality. Lionheart Capital and John H. Ruiz share my commitment to quality and performance, as well as my passion for Cigarette’s brand, and I’m confident in their ability to take the company to even greater heights based on their own successful ventures, resources and business knowledge,” said Skip Braver, former owner of the Cigarette Racing Team.

Cigarette Racing Team specializes in custom-made, hand-crafted, high-performance powerboats. Its clientele has the most discerning taste for luxury and performance. Cigarette’s reputation as the market’s premier powerboat builder has roots deep in offshore racing’s history where performance made its early run for glory. From its inception in 1969, the company grew in size and reputation, based on the hard-racing, fast-lane living of its founder, Don Aronow.

“I am thrilled about our acquisition of Cigarette Racing and believe that Cigarette Racing’s brand is daring, defiant and pushes barriers. With that, my partner John H. Ruiz and I, look forward to taking the company into its next chapter where we build upon the legacy of the brand and create significant value in the future through powerful partnerships and unique collaborations, production amplification and increased distribution channels,” said Ophir Sternberg, co-owner of Cigarette Racing.

Since its inception, the Cigarette brand has grown in sophistication, becoming a product excellence company which focuses on impeccable engineering and beautiful design. Cigarette now builds the finest powerboats for the most loyal and discriminating performance boaters, using only the best in materials, technology and workmanship.

“Ophir and I both are excited about Cigarette Racing and what we can contribute to the company,” said John H. Ruiz, co-owner of Cigarette Racing. Ruiz, who brings expertise in building hugely successful technology platforms, is excited about incorporating the most cutting-edge technological advancements, innovations and safety features to take performance to the next level. “I have been an avid fan for decades. I personally own numerous Cigarette hand-crafted powerboats and believe that the brand is on the verge of a new wave of acceleration. Cigarette Racing is such an iconic American name in the world of boating, that it is truly an honor to be a part of the continuation of its legacy that’s been going strong for over 50 years, and look forward to taking it into unchartered waters.”

Always on the cusp of redefining luxury, Cigarette recently collaborated with Italian Architect and Designer Giorgio Cassetta, the 2019 World Superyacht Award winner, to create a boat of unconventional strength and style. That know-how and innate elegance with a passion for new challenges, led Poltrona Frau to array the interiors of the powerful Tirranna 59′.

Cigarette as a lifestyle is visible on waterways around the world, but it started and continues to be headquartered in Miami, Florida. Cigarette Racing powerboats range from $600K to $3.5M.