The Cigarette Racing stand at the Miami Boat Show this morning hosted the latest in the eight-year collaboration between Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing: the AMG GT S parked next to the fast-boat it inspired, the Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S Concept. The vinyl ester resin and fiberglass go-fast boat is more than a matching Solarbeam yellow paint job with the coupe that inspired it. Like other carmakers who have partnered with companies outside the industry – such as Nissan’s recent tie-up with NASA – there’s an exchange of technology involved; Cigarette said that working with AMG on composites and bonding helped them drop 1,000 pounds off the Marauder GT S Concept compared to the standard Marauder twin-engine, which comes in at 14,200 pounds. Customers who order standard Marauders can request the weight reduction (for a price), but we were told that unless they plan to spend most of their time above 100 miles per hour, the extra weight contributes to a smoother ride.
Mercedes head designer Gordon Wagener penned the exterior paint job and worked with Cigarette to design the cockpit trim, which would have seen him in familiar surroundings: Cigarette Racing owner is a long-time AMG customer, and the boat company based its bespoke department on the AMG Design Studio in Affalterbach. Every one of its boats is handbuilt in its factory in Opa-locka, Florida using some of the same processes seen in automaking, like bar codes to track the progress of hulls and components, computer controlled paint samples with digital files that can be sent around the world for matching, and doing all the stitching in-house to keep tabs on quality control.
The engine compartment holds two, nine-liter, four-valve, DOHC, quad-cam, twin-turbocharged Mercury Racing engines with all-aluminum blocks, each one of them good for an electronically-limited 1,550 pound-feet of torque, and either 1,350 horsepower or 1,550 horsepower depending on whether you run regular 91-octane fuel or 116-octane race fuel. So yes, that’s 3,100 hp and 3,100 lb-ft at once, if you go all out. Mercury says they’re the most powerful powerful emissions-certified gas-powered marine engines you can buy. The engines don’t have knock sensors, though, so you have to turn a key to register the kind of fuel you’re putting in, and you can switch from one to the other when two 150-gallon tanks are down to 10-percent full.
That extra potent go-fast juice will get you up to an estimated 135 miles per hour on the water, making this the most powerful boat in the company’s portfolio, but it’s not the fastest; they built a boat that went 172 mph during a tilt at the kilometer high-speed run, but that was with a non-emissions-certified race engine. Each motor will ‘sip’ 17 gallons per hour when doing 70 mph on the water, that turns into 135 gallons per hour at full speed.
We were told the switch to turbocharging – as opposed to the supercharged engines Cigarette uses in boats like its 39-foot Top Gun Unlimited – makes the engines something like 20 decibels quieter. That will make it easier to hear the “Pure” JL Audio system, which has more speakers than Congress.
The boat is already sold, naturally, for $1.2 million – a premium of about $300,000 over the typical Marauder SS, which we think isn’t such a bad deal for the only one of its kind. The press release below has a bit more info.
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Exclusive power boat with most powerful twin engine – inspired by the Mercedes-AMG GT S sports car
Affalterbach/Miami, February 12, 2015 – Cigarette Racing and Mercedes-AMG present the latest model of their long-standing cooperation at this year’s Miami International Boat Show: the Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S Concept – the maritime incarnation of the new Mercedes-AMG GT S sports car, which is also on display in Miami. The high-performance boat with the most powerful production twin engine within the Cigarette portfolio is inspired by the hallmark design and the full-blooded motorsport technology of the Mercedes-AMG GT S. Painted in the exclusive AMG Solarbeam colour and sporting matte black highlights, the concept boat makes unmistakable references to the dynamic character of the sports car from Affalterbach.
With the market launch of the Mercedes-AMG GT S in March 2015, the high-performance brand of Mercedes-Benz will compete in the top-calibre sports car segment for the first time. The model was designed entirely by Mercedes-AMG and combines agile driving dynamics and top-class racetrack performance with breath-taking design. The front-mid-engine concept and the intelligent aluminium lightweight construction provide the basis for a highly dynamic driving experience. The newly developed AMG twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine underscores the AMG brand claim “Driving Performance”. It produces 375 kW (510 hp) of power and a peak torque of 650 Newton metres. This power pack makes impressive performance possible: the Mercedes-AMG GT S sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds.
“With its technological substance the Mercedes-AMG GT S meets our high demands on driving dynamics, agility and performance”, says Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG.
“The GT S is built according to the motto ‘Handcrafted by Racers’. We are glad that this spirit and our brand-typical driving performance inspired our long-time partner Cigarette Racing to create this powerboat.”
Skip Braver, President and CEO of Cigarette Racing, adds: “We are thrilled to work with the high-performance brand of Mercedes-Benz again this year to develop our fastest power boat to date. With the two new Mercury racing engines inspired by AMG, the 50 Marauder GT S Concept embodies our brand promise of innovation and master craftsmanship”.
The cooperation of Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing has been in existence since 2007 and is primarily rooted in joint customer and marketing activities. On land and on the water – performance is the element that connects Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing. Like the performance vehicles from Mercedes-AMG, the 38 to 55 foot (11.6 to 16.87 metres) power boats from the American specialist are among the fastest and most exclusive of their kind in the world. They offer tailor-made and hand-built quality for enthusiasts, tested under extreme conditions. Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing are also kindred souls with regard to their DNA. Both companies have their roots in racing and live this passion with the utmost vigour.
“Inspired by the all-new Mercedes-AMG GT S, our newest collaboration with Cigarette Racing focuses on the exhilarating and the exquisite,” said Gorden Wagener, Head of Design Daimler AG. “The new Mercedes-AMG GT is a sports car in its purist form and this expression of power and speed is what also sculpted the body and the flowing lines of the 50 Marauder GT S Concept.”
Powered by newly developed Mercury racing engines
The Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S Concept is powered by two Mercury racing engines. The engine bay is painted a stunning AMG Solarbeam colour. Intelligent lightweight construction resulted in weight savings of about 450 kilograms over the standard homologation weight. The power boat is 50 feet long (about 15 metres), eight feet wide (about 2.40 metres), and reaches a top speed of more than 217 km/h.
Design, appointments and cockpit with hallmark AMG elements
The design and the appointments reflect the dynamic character of the Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S Concept. The exterior sparkles with a black hull and an AMG logo in AMG Solarbeam with matte black highlights. The hand-finished interior is dominated by a black and AMG Solarbeam colour combination with black Alcantara® highlights. The design is inspired by the classic Cigarette Racing cockpit. The user interface features state-of-the-art technologies: Bluetooth® communication, computer-based control, four high-resolution displays, Garmin and Cigarette navigation, and an audio system of the latest generation.
The price for this unique Cigarette Racing boat is USD 1.2 million. The Miami International Boot Show is open to the public 12 to 16 February 2015 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
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