At the 2016 Miami International Boat Show this week, Mercury Marine announced a slate of new outboard engines, as well as a host of other integrated electronic accessories designed to make moment-to-moment driving easier for operators.
First up is the 115 Pro XS FourStroke engine, which joins the rest of the Pro XS lineup. The 115 Pro is meant to be used for inshore saltwater and freshwater bass boat applications.
“We are seeing continuous growth of four-stroke power globally,” says Mercury Marine president John Pfeifer. “The four-stroke is certainly coming in and taking over the two-stroke, even in the DFI [direct fuel injection] segment. Every year that goes by, DFI goes down and four-stroke goes up — and disproportionately so.”
Other engines announced include a variant of the Verado 400R they released last year, the Mercury Racing 400 ROS (Race Offshore), 40-and 60hp SeaPro four-strokes with longer engine life and able to withstand heavy saltwater use, as well as a 175hp Diesel Spark ignition outboard.
Mercury also announced an improvement to its Joystick Piloting System for Verado outboards. The new version includes an indicator on the joystick for route, heading, and station-holding modes and also includes enhanced reverse thrust.
Other new products include two multifunction and multitouch displays, the VesselView502 and the VesselView702 with five- and seven-inch displays, respectively. The displays work with Mercury’s VesselView system, which shows drivers real-time boat and engine performance data. VesselView now has Bluetooth-enabled iOS and Android apps, which allow users to see that data on their smartphones as well.
Finally, they introduced two new propellers for 75 to 115hp outboards, the SpitFire X7 and SpitFire CT. The X7 is designed for max speed and acceleration and is made out of Mercury’s new alloy, while the CT is built with Mercury’s Command Thrust lower unit, which is a more robust drive with four blades that are ideal for the power needed for pontoons.
For more information, visit Mercury's News Room.
