Currently celebrating its 56th anniversary, Cigarette Racing Team has been expanding its dealer network in formerly uncharted territory. A little more than a year ago, performance-boat devotees Paul and Tiffany Ison opened Cigarette Racing Kentucky. In June, the couple plans to have a grand-opening celebration at their newly built-out location not far from Lake Cumberland, the state’s primary hotbed for go-fast boating.
Starting in May 2024 at the Kuttawa Cannonball Run in their home-state and finishing in November at the Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run, the couple spent much of the year on the road showcasing a stunning blue 42 Auroris center console from the Opa-Locka, Fla., company. Soon they’ll be back at it with a new 41 Nighthawk model.
Their effort is fueled by their shared love for high-performance boating, passion for the brand itself—Ison owned more than 10 Cigarette builds before he and then-Tiffany Crawford married last fall—and expanding the company’s footprint in their region.
“We’re just so passionate about boating,” Tiffany Ison said shortly after they started the dealership. “We want to take some of what we love doing and help expand the Cigarette brand in our area.”
But the Isons aren’t the only Cigarette fans who are bringing the brand to a previously uncharted territory. As reported this morning, the iconic powerboat company now has a dealer in Japan. It is the first dealership in the island nation.
Cigarette chief executive officer Alex Ruiz said he sees even more brand-expansion on the international horizon.
“We are beyond excited to enter the Japanese market-place,” Ruiz enthused. “We’ve had a very warm welcome there so far and we’re already seeing a lot of traction. With the momentum from this opening, we’ve received an influx of communications from dealers looking to open locations all over the world, and this is just another step towards our global dealer expansion”—Matt Trulio
