Don Aronow who was seen later in his career racing without a helmet is shown here racing an ealry Formula boat in the Bahamas wearing no helmet or life jacket.

Don aronow miami vice. Its got everything. Speed Kills Update. Aronow 59 at the time of his murder in 1987 was a handsome jet-setting Miami speedboat racer and designer of the sleek racing craft known as the cigarette boat.

He was tan enough that one might suspect a woodpile malfunction. Involving powerboat racing mobsters Presidents and ultimately murder. Donald Aronow a boat builder and champion racer who designed the sleek.

Here in Miami. Champion of offshore racing. The famous 007 catching up to an early Bertram race boat.

The grisly murder of speedboat champion Don Aronow is an irresistible Miami Vice-style story that practically defines the go-go years of South Florida in the 80s. Sleek-hulled Cigarette boats also became favored by drug smugglers and were featured on the Miami Vice. BushRetired President Lyndon Johnson owned several 16 ft.

His boats went on to win a whopping 350 offshore races and Aronow himself was a two-time world champion and three-time US. Don had just moved down from Joisy and had sent his diving boat Claudia a 32 foot Pederson Viking skiff to our yard for launching. On 3rd February 1987 six blinding lightening flashes and their accompanying peals of thunder rolled down North-east 118th Street Miami Florida.

I tested his boats. He built speedboats for the Shah of Iran Charles Keating Robert Vesco Malcolm Forbes and George H. But perhaps no murder at least no murder that was solved contained more intrigue and mystery than the shooting of speed-boat builder Don Aronow.