Mercury Racing Kicks Off 50th Anniversary Celebration In V-10 Outboard Style
If you don’t know that Mercury Racing unveiled a 400-hp V-10 outboard engine during a celebration at a swanky location last night in South Beach, you need better WiFi. Or just some WiFi. Because the Internet blew up with the news of the 400R unveiling in real time ahead of the Miami International Boat Show, which opens today.
Mercury Racing’s V-10 400R outboard heralds a new age for the company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Photos Tom Leigh copyright Mercury Racing.
Timing, as the saying goes, is everything and that of the naturally aspirated, 400-hp V-10 brute couldn’t be better as the Fond du Lac, Wis., company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. And it’s going to be one heck of a yearlong bash that includes an offshore powerboat race in Sheboygan, Wis., and more.
A bit of key information on the new 400R:
• The engine boasts a 5.7-liter (349-cubic-inch) powerhead that is based on the design architecture of the V-8 4.6-liter Mercury Racing 300R model. The 64-degree powerhead displaces the 5.7 liters while maintaining the compact width required for 26-inch center-to-center mounting on multi-engine transoms for “seamless installations on new boats and repower applications,” according to a Mercury Marine press release.
• Peak horsepower is achieved at 6,000 to 6,660 rpm. The engine runs on 87 octane fuel.
• The Mercury Racing V-10 400R comes standard with the company’s Advance Mid-Section and will be available in 20-, 25-, 30- and 35-inch lengths to accommodate a wide range of single or multi-engine performance applications.
The 400R outboards are sure to find their way onto a broad range of high-performance boats.
• Two gears cases, the high-performance SportMaster and the Heavy Duty 5.44 are available for the outboard.
• With the 400R outboard as its target, Mercury Racing has created a new propeller line dubbed Ventera, which is “designed to handle big outboard horsepower on the fastest high-performance center consoles.” The propellers will be offered in pitches from 18 to 27.5 inches.
• The engine is covered by a three-year limited factory warranty with as many as five additional years of Mercury Product Protection extended factory warranty available.
But there was an elephant in the open-air room, literally a parking structure transformed into an exclusive, South Beach-style nightclub, last night.
Is that it for Mercury Racing outboard releases—as if a 400-hp V-10 that runs on pump fuel and reportedly delivers mind-bending mid-range wallop isn’t enough—in Miami this year?
To accommodate various applications, Mercury Racing offers two gearcases for the 400R outboard engine.
Asked exactly that question, Andrea Jansen, Mercury Racing’s marketing manager and a woman not to be trifled with, just smiled and shrugged.
We shall see. The show is just getting going, and it’s already off to a fine start with the new 400R.
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