500hp turbo V8 tipped for Mercury’s big-banger outboard engine range
Supercharged Verado sixes appear to be making way for a new generation of hot-vee turbo eightsIs Mercury Marine working on a top secret 500hp 4.6-litre V8 outboard engine that will add turbocharger technology? The rumour mill will have you believe so.
A speculative story
flagged it had recently been invited to Lake X, the outboard engine maker’s former proving ground hidden in the Orlando wilderness.The bulk of the story focuses on the site’s history, but tails off with Mercury demonstrating a prototype 300hp outboard engine. However, if you’re expecting the familiar supercharged whine of the previous-generation Verado in-line six-cylinder unit, forget it. The higher horsepower Mercury Verado range, it appears, has added cylinder count and displacement.
“It sounds like a Corvette, the unmistakable burble of a big-bore naturally aspirated V8,” Popular Mechanics journalist Ezra Dyer wrote.
“And that’s what it is, a new 4.6-litre double-overhead cam V8 hiding beneath the angular engine cover. Like its high-performance automotive brethren, the Mercury V8 announces itself with a cold-start exhaust bypass.”
He then adds a clue as to how the higher-performance versions of the Verado will better the previous generation’s 400hp serve of performance.
Reverse 'hot vee'
"Supercharged V8s put their blowers in the vee of the block, close to the intake valves,” Dyer wrote. “But the Mercury blocks are a reverse ‘hot vee’ setup, meaning that the intakes are on the outside of the block, and the exhaust dumps into the center.
“And why would you do it that way? For turbocharging.”
If Mercury does add snails to its higher-performance outboards, it will follow a similar trend to the car industry, which has found that creating a shorter path to a turbocharger – by mounting it inside the engine’s vee – can significantly boost an engine’s performance and minimise turbo lag. Automotive performance brands including Mercedes-AMG, Audi’s Quattro and BMW M have all adapted hot vee designs with their performance drivetrains.
Mercury is expected to make at least a couple of major announcements for its outboard engine range at the 2019 Miami International Boat Show, which starts on February 14.
Tariff exemption
Meanwhile, Mercury Marine’s owner, Brunswick Corporation, announced this week that it had gained an exemption from the Trump government’s 25 per cent tariff on its 40, 50 and 60hp outboard engines assembled in China.
"We are pleased that the USTR (United States Trade Representative ) and CBP (US Customs and Border Protection) have approved the exclusion requests for these three classes of outboard engines, which are very popular choices for fishing and family boating activities," Brunswick chief executive Mark Schwabero said.
"It is good for consumers as well as for American manufacturers. We remain hopeful that the trade issues which led to the imposition of tariffs and subsequent retaliatory tariffs can be resolved quickly and amicably between the US and its trading partners."
The exemption is expected to add up to $US6 million ($A8.6 million) to the company’s bottom line.
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