Mercury's Media X-Cursion allows members of the press to experience Mercury's new products and technologies.

This is an exciting time for the boat industry.   Emissions laws are now in effect for outboard engines, creating a scramble from engine manufacturers to develop new technologies that will deliver better performance and fuel economy.  While this itself has been a springboard for vast change in the outboard industry, the industry as a whole has also embarked on a greater ‘technology war’ of sorts, developing new products and features designed to make boating more enjoyable, worry free and easy.

While all major manufacturers have introduced new products and technologies in recent years, Mercury Marine has been consistently setting the industry on fire with its relentless product development cycle and innovations.  

2004 saw the introduction of the world’s first and most advanced supercharged four-stroke outboard, the Mercury Verado and its Digital Throttle and Shift system (DTS).  That engine sent a strong and clear message to the rest of the boating industry: Mercury Marine was not simply going to adopt emissions-friendly technology - they were going to reinvent it.

Many test boats were on hand, from extreme high performance to consumer fishing rigs.

2005 showed a further progression of the Verado line with the introduction of the four-cylinder models, ranging from 135-175 horsepower.  These supercharged models delivered V6 power in a compact inline four-cylinder package.  Additionally, Mercury introduced the press to another exciting technology – Shadow Drive.  Shadow technology allows the control of three outboards with controls for just two.  The outer engines respond directly to user input, while the center engine is controlled electronically, automatically determining the ideal commands based on helm inputs.

This year at the 2006 Miami International Boat Show, Mercury debuted a new business philosophy - “A Company Transformed”.  Mercury has undergone significant internal changes under the leadership of President Patrick Mackie, resulting in unheard of product development cycles and relentless engineering of new technologies that has the marine industry’s full attention.  In just a few years, Mercury Marine has not only redefined four-stroke outboard power, but has effectively created a full range of four stroke outboard products while maintaining and further building on the direct-injected two-stroke OptiMax platform. 

An impressive showing of Mercury Racing's supercharged stern drive packages were present.  This Nor-Tec is equipped with twin HP850 SCi engines.

New products unveiled this year further underscore Mercury’s roadmap strategy of developing two and four-stroke outboards, with the introduction of the 75, 90 and 115 horsepower Verado-derived four-stroke engines, rounding out Mercury’s 23-model four-stroke engine lineup.  It’s important to note that although the naturally aspirated 75-115 horsepower models do not share the Verado name, they are built on the same architecture that was developed to withstand supercharged induction.

Mercury Racing also makes a bold statement with its stunning 300XS OptiMax – a 3.2 litre powerhouse that dispels the myths that emissions-friendly performance outboards are a thing of the past.  Mercury Racing also introduced a new 4-blade Lightning ET propeller, in addition to the all-new Mercury Enertia that utilizes Mercury’s new high strength X7 stainless steel alloy. Rounding out Mercury Racing’s offering are the new HP700 SCi Sterndrive and all-new NXT drive system.  Shadow Technology has also expanded with the addition of quad-engine capability, allowing the user to command four engines with the ease of dual-lever controls.

It certainly was another very busy year for Mercury and Mercury Racing, and it was our time to experience the results of their unprecedented product development strategy.