350hp, 400hp Mercury V10 Verado outboard engines launched
Mercury retires its supercharged in-line six-cylinder performance engines for an all-new Verado V10Mercury has upped its high-performance game with an all-new powerplant that will replace its 2.6-litre supercharged inline six-cylinder engines – the 350hp and 400hp 5.7-litre V10 Verado.
The new normally aspirated V10 – spiritually closer to Mercury’s V8 than the range-topping 600hp V12 launched in Australia earlier this year – includes a unique lower leg that swings a bespoke Revolution propeller so large that it rivals that of the larger one on the twin-prop Mercury V12 Verado.
The new engine was launched overnight near Mercury’s Lake X, its privately owned proving ground that has helped develop every outboard engine in the brand’s current line-up.
Because of its height, the new engine has to mount an inch higher than the inline six it will replace, which also happens to increase the height of the centre of gravity. However, the centre of gravity has also moved forward via a slight offset.
The 350hp and 400hp Mercury V10 Verado will also offer the option of a 35-inch midsection. This is so anyone thinking of quad- or quint-engine applications can come to the party.
Mercury doesn’t really talk up its engines’ torque figures, but the whole reason it went with the larger prop – combined with a low 2.08:1 gearbox ratio – was to ensure all that performance is transferred straight to the water. Holeshot performance is said to be right up there with the best.
Mercury is also keen to talk up just how quiet this new engine is, saying two people can easily have a conversation at the transom while the boat is running. It’s so quiet that Mercury claims it followed the same path it did with the V12, eliminating the engine’s telltale because it was too loud. Like the V12, you can still option one if you want, but so far for the V12 at least, no one has.
Two engines, many applications
According to Tim Reid, Mercury’s vice-president of product development and engineering, the 350hp to 400hp outboard engine range has to perform for a diverse range of needs – everything from a 60km/h pontoon boat rocking a single engine through to a 150km/h offshore power boat featuring four or five engines powering it.
“What we’ve challenged our engineering team to do is to capture that diversity of the market in a single product,” Reid says.
The new V10 Verado is roughly the same size as Yamaha’s flagship 425 XTO Offshore, but because it keeps a narrow bank angle the new powerplants can mount at 26-inch centre intervals, meaning they can pack together more tightly.
In a bit of good news for anyone using the supercharged inline six-cylinder engines and thinking about an upgrade, the new V10’s mounting centres are the same width as the engine it is replacing, even if the extra inch in height means the holes don't align vertically.
Mercury Marine president Chris Drees said the Mercury V10 Verado outboard engines were “exactly what boaters have been asking for in a 350hp and 400hp platform”.
“They are powerful, smooth and quiet,” Drees said. “They have many of the same fuel efficiency-enhancing features that are synonymous with our high-horsepower lineup.
“They also deliver the same kind of premium boating experience that has made Verado outboards legendary. The V10 Verado outboards solidify Mercury’s leadership position in the high-horsepower outboard market.”
The new Mercury V10 Verado engines started production about three weeks ago, with the first Australian deliveries expected in the second quarter of 2023.
Prices? They will go up for the new engine, but Drees told boatsales.com.au it would not be by much.
Oh, and on a final note, the engine will come in a choice of four different colours – one shade of black, and three of white.
Specifications
Model: Mercury V10 Verado 350hp
Engine type: 64-degree V10
Displacement: 5.7L
Power: 350hp at 5800-6400rpm
Weight: 316kg (lightest model)
Shaft length: 508mm (20-inch)/635mm (25-inch)/762mm (30-inch)/889mm (35-inch)
Gearcase ratio: 2.08:1
Trim system: Power tilt and trim
Steering: Electro-hydraulic power/Joystick Piloting for Outboards (multiple installs)
Alternator: 150A
Model: Mercury V10 Verado 400hp
Engine type: 64-degree V10
Displacement: 5.7L
Power: 350hp at 5800-6400rpm
Weight: 316kg (lightest model)
Shaft length: 508mm (20-inch)/635mm (25-inch)/762mm (30-inch)/889mm (35-inch)
Gearcase ratio: 2.08:1
Trim system: Power tilt and trim
Steering: Electro-hydraulic power/Joystick Piloting for Outboards (multiple installs)
Alternator: 150A
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