After the closing of the doors of Seven Marine, the most powerful outboard engine in production today is the 600hp Mercury Marine V12.
Let’s take a closer look at what it looks like.
Mercury Marine V12 600hp
“Power is nothing if it is not outboard.”
One could reinterpret the famous Pirelli commercial this way to describe the rise of XL engines at the stern of increasingly larger hulls.
Showcasing them is part of the success, but beyond aesthetics there is more.
The race to the top has led most brands to stably produce outboards above 300 horsepower.
The world’s largest boat with this kind of powertrain meanwhile is preparing to touch 70 feet with the Scout 670 LX.
This 20-footer is scheduled to be launched in 2024 and will be a 3,000-horsepower behemoth(five Mercury Verado 600hp V12s) capable of reaching 50 knots with 35 cruising.
More muscle, then, but also more technology.
They improve the feet and their hydrodynamics, the intake and mixing systems of the air-fuel duo to optimize fuel consumption according to conditions.
It also increases, often, the power of the alternators, given the need for more power on board.
Also important is the interface, which on these powers sees a standardization of electronic steering systems that improve the driving experience and often simplify it with joystick support.
The “champion” of all these changes is the 600-horsepower Mercury.
600-horsepower outboard: the most powerful in the world
The strengths of this outboard Mercury Marine Verado 600-horsepower V12 are many.
On the one hand, there is energy efficiency with low fuel consumption and good consequent range.
This also means less carbon dioxide emissions due to a combination of features:
- integrated automatic transmission
- Dual, advanced and counter-rotating propellers
- Mercury Advanced Range Optimisation (ARO) lean combustion strategy.
- Closed-loop fuel control.
After all, we are talking about a gasoline V12 outboard engine equipped with a steerable foot with a counter-rotating propeller.
Technologically, it still represents a milestone in the world of marine engines capable of great interpretation of the market shift from inboard to outboard. Read our full (and free) test of this outboard here
