The World's First V12 Outboard Is A 7.6 N/A Monster

The V12 may be a dying breed in the car world, but it's alive and well in the realm of ludicrously expensive boats
The World's First V12 Outboard Is A 7.6 N/A Monster

As far as cars go, the V12 is an endangered species. Few are left these days, and the already tiny population of automotive 12-bangers is set to decline even further in the next few years.

The realm of expensive boats is a little different, however. In the marine industry, big, naturally-aspirated engines are still king. So, as the car world turns its back on such lumps, Mercury has released the first-ever V12 outboard.

The World's First V12 Outboard Is A 7.6 N/A Monster

Boats aren’t something we’d usually cover on Car Throttle (unless it’s a capsized container ship full of cars being lopped into pieces), but we’ll let that slide this time. After all, it’s not like we get that many opportunities to talk about a brand new V12.

The engine in question is the 7.6-litre Verado, a quad-cam, 60-degree V12 producing 600bhp. Inside the powerhead, the engine is mounted on its end with the cylinder banks pointing outwards. Normally, a boat with an outboard is steered by turning the whole engine, but the Verado instead has an electro-hydraulically actuated gear case that pivots the dual propellers under the water.

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Another industry first is the two-speed transmission, which has a 20 per cent lower first gear for better acceleration. Apparently, the shift is so smooth, users won’t even notice it.

The whole shebang weighs in at 572kg, but the heft isn’t much of an issue - the Verado is intended for vessels 40 feet or more in length. The under-stressed engine will hit 5600-6400rpm at full throttle and can run for around 200 hours between oil changes.

The World's First V12 Outboard Is A 7.6 N/A Monster

The posh boat world in an especially indulgent place, but the thinking behind the V12 is purely practical. On bigger boats it’s common to see a series of outboards used, so a big 12-cylinder unit gives the option to reduce the engine count, cutting service costs and increasing fuel economy. According to Mercury, a couple of Verado V12s use 20 per cent less fuel at cruise than a trio of “competitive” 425hp outboards. Plus, a V12 going to be smoother than something like a V8.

Inevitably, it’s not cheap. The Verado will be $77,000 when it goes on sale this spring. There’s also a hardier 500bhp commercial version called the SeaPro.

Comments

KTT1803

Man, those engines sound amazing.

02/12/2021 - 23:03 |
2 | 0
Olivier (CT's grammar commie)

It is expensive considering you can get a Honda BF250 (3.6L V6 with VTEC, 250 hp) for 27k CAD, so a pair of BF250s wouldn’t cost over 60k CAD, which is like 47k USD, or 30k less than the V12. That means you could get three for the cost of the V12, have 18 cylinders and 750 hp.

That said, the V12 in itself still makes more power than a combo of two BF250s, and at the end you still have a V12.

02/13/2021 - 06:22 |
0 | 0
Latooman

What keeps me from putting one of those bad boys into my project car🤔🤔

02/13/2021 - 10:52 |
2 | 0
REAL_sluggo

77K reasons NOT to buy an outboard; here are (3):

If you fancy the sound of a room full of sewing machines, this is your motor…
If you’re deaf, this is your motor…
If you like burning your euros for kindling, this is the motor for YOU…

Save your pounds, buy the inboard diesel, and live a better life

02/13/2021 - 18:16 |
0 | 0

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