On Feb 11th Mercury is coming out with a new product.
The guesses I have heard are from higher hp or possibly a hybrid.

Mercury Marine will be "unveiling an outboard that delivers boaters unrivaled freedom, luxury and power to pursue their passions on the water." and repeating, it will be the "most innovative product in Mercury history." Furthermore, "it will be a truly special day for everyone who loves the water as much as we do."

Here comes the electric outboards for the liberals

This one I don't agree with "for the liberals". I'm as redneck as it gets & I really wish they would make a large enough electric outboard for bass boats. I lived on an electric only lake for 20 years too, that helped with all the battery and propulsion research.

I just re powered in 2020 to a 4s I hope I dont regret it....

No way they replace that motor this soon.

I am guessing a 150hp electric to start. I know the trend is outboard, but it seems an I/O setup would be good for an electric motor and batteries.

I am hoping for electromagnetic props capable of 25000 rpm.

Maybe Bombardier was behind this curve which is why they bowed out of the outboard business. Although I thought some of their recent technologies were pretty significant. Or maybe they saw the electrification of everything coming and just decided it wasn’t worth it, assuming that is what this announcement is about.

Just a thought.

Yes that would be great all electric motor when the cost of electricity is going go through the roof. I guess you pay to charge it 1 month and go fishing the next month.

I heard it was a V6 two-stroke, direct injection, fly by wire, electronic shift, electronic foot pedal, 15% more fuel efficient than four strokes, and lowest emissions of any outboard on the market. I can’t wait! LOL

Hoping whatever it is they make it where we can switch between Hot Foot & Hand throttle.

I will gladly volunteer my champion as a test hull for anything rated 250 or more cuz there ain't a way in hades I can ever afford a new one.

just glad the 95 200 is runnin like a top.

and if it is electric, be sure to get a 10# abc extenguisher and some thick rubber gloves and boots.

and it does not mean you get to electro shock for tournaments either! damit!

You need to keep up with the technology hop...
Just because you can shock them up, doesn't mean you can catch them.
Its just a tool that makes it easier to find the fish. You still have to hook there near lifeless floating bodies.

So poetic it brought a tear to my eye....or a shameless plug that made me throw up a little.....Can’t wait to see what “freedoms and luxury” actually are in outboard world!

Land and Sea use to make a hotfoot that you could switch between throttle and hotfoot... Not sure if it's still around or not... Dan

This feature already exist with the right Mercury controls.
May be aftermarket.

I would be interested in an electric after waiting and seeing how good battery life and reliability is. I would not be first in line to get one.

Verado I believe.

Electric in the higher horse powers comes with all kinds of associated issues.
The battery ain't small and with todays technology, it still wears out quicker than the motor. How you gonna replace it? Remove the boat cap?
Electric has tremendous torque. You cant take advantage of that and still have top end speed unless you have a transmission or variable pitch prop.
on and on.

Looking forward to seeing what they've got.

Sounds like a greenie wiener type thing. If it is electric it will go down like the Harley Davidson offering.

If fourstroke ain’t good enough I’m out

Small electric outboard(s) would be my guess.

Organic and solar.

Reading this make me want to build another deer blind.

An electric outboard of any size makes no sense at all. At this point in the technology curve with batteries, half of the boat would have to be batteries. I wish some brilliant chemist could come up with a non fossil fuel combination of elements that will provide the same amount of energy as gasoline. That would be something special.

not electric. that would not fly well with a bunch of outdoor rednecks. a more efficient motor with a lower unit capable of changing gears to utilize the motor with less HP would be awesome

They are making a new engine cowling with a cup holder on it.

I was thinking this or a wine chiller.

It will also have a 12" graph built into it.

Disagree....They are already making some and if you look at Lithium tech now, the batteries would fit in the same footprint as a normal gas tank on a boat. Look at the Torqeedo's and their batteries, granted smaller motors but the tech is nearly there. Its a fascinating subject for sure....There are electric drag boats in the Pacific NW that are insanely fast.

https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/products/outboards/deep-blue

Here's a company making some heavy duty high HP electric motors. The 300 and 450 are in beta available in the next few years. The 150 is available now.

Someday it will come to our waters...And not polluting the waterways with gas & oil makes a lot of sense. I hope the Mercury announcement is a step in this direction.

https://www.evoy.no/outboard/

I think the energy density of a battery has not been significantly lowered in years. Cost is one thing and I think they will have lower cost and shorter charge times in the near future but the power to weigh of gas versus electric is not going to change dramatically.
I would think a diesel hybrid would not be a big jump since its been around awhile. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Might finally be releasing the CVT, with the oversized mid section housing the torque processor and the valve body. Essentially geared drive without gears so the top end can wind up for the torque then back down to run at 5000 rpm instead of 6200 all the time, still achieving mid 70s, reducing friction generated heat required for maintaining tight tolerances and extending parts life, and also MPG increased +/-19%. Don’t think they are ready for mass produced electric, likely a hybrid first. Guess we will see...

Ok. A real guess.

36v electrical system in the motor that eliminates the camshaft components. This would allow computer controlled valving, reduced parasitic power loss. The TRUE variable lift would allow for extreme low end torque, midrange, and superior high end power. Very low emissions, and very good fuel mileage.

Or maybe a new color scheme.

"unveiling an outboard that delivers boaters unrivaled freedom, luxury and power to pursue their passions on the water." Now this is beginning to make sense!

This is an accurate statement^^^^^IMHO. Battery size like in an electric automobile is not that different than the fuel tank for a gas motor. And performance? One of the all time fastest accelerating production vehicles ever is a Tesla. The limitations for outboards will be the same as they are for automobiles: limited mileage or run time. Without of course doubling or triple the size of the batteries thus increasing weight and cost.

I think they just need to build the hull out of batteries then you will have more storage

This reply is dumbfounding...

I am not a liberal. I am, however, sick of uneducated, generalized statements with out having any substance behind it.

If we are all avid outdoor enthusiast... why would you not want newer technology to help protect our outdoors for the future?

Mercury 4-stroke already have that option.

I think that's called Nuclear...lol

As to the meat and potatoes. Those batteries are not made with unicorn farts and fairy dust. Nor are they charged with electricity produced by sprinkling quinoa over kale.

This! And I am saving the last unicorn fart I found in a Zip-loc bag for my next big tourney!!

Just watch how fast these liberal states, water districts, and municipal water supply lakes ban gas outboards when an electric outboard becomes available on a large scale. The cost of the outboard will be irrelevant. It will happen in the blink of an eye.

You're right! That is a scary thought!

I guess after the last year with Covid, those wild elections, what’s looming on the horizon.....some of us just need to laugh out loud to relieve tension or “blow off some steam”. Not necessarily meaning to offend anyone....

Change is never an easy thing to handle...

Leadership change and closet doors are busting wide open everywhere...

Extra points for getting Unicorn Farts in a sentence!

They have. MSR nuclear power.

No. Not really if the change is a good thing.

I give it 6 weeks before one finds it was on the transom of a Bullet, BassCat, or Ballistic.

Now thats what I'm talkin about!!

Weight could be an issue.... I could see it on a big walleye boat though.

Guess there is hope for the Ranger guys to break 75 mph now when not on the trailer behind the truck.

Hey hey hey, watch it! We could do 75 - if we wanted to - and our fuel was almost empty - and we took off the trolling motor - and some of the batteries....

I'm raising my hand and volunteer my boat as the guinea pig... Dan

seven marine has had more hp for while. This is more about dealer network and price I assume.

7Marine is no more. Volvo bought them a year or so ago and recently shut it down. Their big motor was 627 and if it was still in production Mercury surly would have made theirs a 650. Supposedly the new merc also a dual prop and steered by the gearcase not the motor. Either way we'll find out more tomorrow when they have the official press press release.

I'd love an electric IF it was safe and affordable. I like to fish for the peace and quiet and of course to catch fish. Now if they'd just remove stereos out of the damn wake board boats. Oh and ballast too. That would be the real win.

This shows 2 things, where the real money in the boating industry is at and answered the question about if Merc was heading to the "green" side. They gave them the middle finger with that motor

The best thing to remove from a wake boat is the drain plug - preferably while the boat is adrift in very deep water.

I would also like to see the size of those things. A v12 has to be big

As COOL as it would be, I highly doubt it will be a V12. It would be much more cost effective to add boost to the supercharger and remap the ECU. Those 2 things would bring the Merc 450R up to 600 HP with relative ease and still do it on pump gas and be dependable enough to offer warranty.

Mercruiser had ties with General Motors when they partnered on the ZR1 Corvette motor in 1985. It was was the first 4 cam 32 valve 5.7 liter V8 ever "produced" by GM. GM has never had a mass produced V12. The chances of them building one for the marine industry is far fetched.

What they do have is a mass produced supercharged V8. The Corvette Z06 is currently making 650 HP and is a mild mannered very drivable street car. The 6.2 liter Super Charged V8 platform has been reliably in place since 2009 when GM offered it in the Cadillac CTS-V. So there is a LOT of history here. That is the same platform used by Seven Marine for their 627 HP outboard.

v12

The part that may trickle to us is the steering lower unit, the motor doesnt turn.

It's a V12

We will know in a few minutes!

Well some of you already had photos of it!

Verado 600 V12

Offered in a 20" shaft length so someone's gonna put it on a bass boat, just a matter of time.

Dang that's a big motor

Well scratch what I said!

Gonna have to beef up most of them if they do!

I doubt that, the motor by itself is only about 100 pounds lighter than the Hull of a 21'-10" long Bullet 21XRS.

Dry weight *Lightest model available 1260

All of the money and time spent on R&D and that’s what they come up with?! I’m not sure where I thought this would end up, but that wasn’t it. What in the world do they think they’re going to put that monster on?

You clearly have no clue about the saltwater market

Pretty ballsy move by Merc with the current regime in the White House. That is the polar OPPOSITE of a hybrid gas/electric motor. AND, it's only $77,000.00!!!

I live in Weatherford... You’re right... I don’t

I would guess there is 50X more money spent on saltwater fishing than bass fishing world wide.

ALL ELECTRIC IS HERE! BRP (Evinrude) is launching soon

I believe the Ghost Project is an invisible outboard, not electric.

Yes the new Ghost outboard is made from Transparent Aluminum!!

77K?

Heck some estimates were bumping the 100K mark so that "seems" like a steal!

A barging compared to 7Marine

Funny, I was figuring some kind of battery or hybrid tech. NOPE. lol.

Saw ad, 600hp Verado, steers by steering prop shaft, motor does'nt move, could be the new motor talked about.

These will sell well, people are tired of sterndrives.