On February 11, 2021, Mercury Marine will unveil its most innovative product, a real “big news” as it has been called by the U.S. giant’s communication. And as with all big “top secret” news for now only very few Mercury Marine insiders know what it is. We are not on the Mercury team, but we can guess what it might be from the few clues available. Here are our guesses, waiting for the “big news” to be unveiled tomorrow.
Mercury Marine: “big news” arrives on Feb. 11.
A time datum: why February 11? The 2021 edition of the Miami International Boat Show was scheduled to begin on this day. This boat show has always been a favorite time for many brands to make important announcements. This one looks like it.
Let us assume that it is an outboard and let us take a moment to evaluate what it might and might not be. It is important to keep in mind that until tomorrow at 5 p.m. (Italian time), when there will be a live broadcast of the event on Facebook, nothing is certain. Click here to watch the live stream
Mercury Marine, four guesses one day away from “big news”
Despite the cryptic communication the clues left by Mercury Marine allow us to make some assumptions. We have also scoured several U.S. forums on the subject, and these are some of the most plausible theses, sticking to the clues in Mercury’s official statement below as well:
“On Feb. 11, Mercury Marine will introduce an outboard that offers boaters unparalleled freedom, luxury and power to pursue their passions on the water.”
The promise of Chris Drees, president of Mercury Marine, is this: “This may be the most innovative product in Mercury’s history. It will be a very special day for everyone who loves the water as much as we do here at Mercury Marine.”
Mercury Marine 600-horsepower V12 outboard
1. Unparalleled power and luxury. If we take this sentence and add a photo that appeared online on Facebook, Instagram and some blogs showing a stern drive with four 600-horsepower Mercury V12 outboards, more than a few suspicions come to mind. Are they real photos or skillful photoshopping? For now, it is not known. Certainly this sketch would certainly match the clues and could also qualify as the most innovative product in Mercury’s history. Dockside rumors (without official verification then) tell of some testing on boats from the Intrepid shipyard, which is highly regarded overseas. The estimated price? Approximately $100,000,000 per engine. This may be one of the most plausible leads, but for now nothing is certain.
Mercury Marine’s 627-horsepower outboard
2. Recently, a major player in the world of super-powerful outboards has dropped out of the picture: Seven Marine, part of Volvo Penta (
read here
). Is it possible that the technology of the 627 horsepower was acquired by Mercury? One clue comes from Boston Whaler, part of the Brunswick Group as Mercury Marine. The new Boston Whaler 405 Conquest, which can be powered by outboards only, is listed on the official Boston Whaler website with a fairly accurate maximum horsepower: 1881. Let’s do the calculation: 1881 divided by 3 results in exactly 627. And no engine currently in Mercury’s list can provide this power.
Mercury Marine’s 500-600 horsepower V8 outboard
3. On U.S. forums it also finds post a 500- to 600-horsepower 4.6-liter V8 outboard with turbocharger technology. In short, the big brother of the celebrated 450R, among the most popular and successful outboard engines of recent years.
Mercury Marine’s “green” engine
4.“It will be a very special day for everyone who loves the water as much as we do here at Mercury Marine.” Could this sentence hide a green turn of Mercury Marine? In America, with the election of Joe Biden, sustainability has become one of the central issues. And then again the term“freedom” which today is very much associated with electric boating, which is the only one that allows you to reach areas precluded to thermal engines. In addition, more and more new manufacturers are investing in electric drives for boating. What about the large groups? For now, there are no particular initiatives underway, other than Volvo Penta, which had announced that its own hybrid powertrain would arrive in 2022(read here). That Mercury Marine has decided to go for an electric or hybrid engine first?
Having made these assessments, we have only to look forward to tomorrow at 5 p.m. (Italian time). In fact, Mercury Marine’s novelty will be unveiled at a Facebook event. Click here to watch the live stream
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