The 600-HP Outboard Has Arrived

Remember when 200-hp outboard engines were incredibly powerful? Then 300s?

Now Mercury Marine has introduced its new 7.6‑liter V12 600-hp Verado outboard.

"With boats continuing to grow bigger and performance expectations continuing to rise, boaters have been asking for a better, more capable high-horsepower solution to meet their needs. The V12 Verado outboard is Mercury's answer," says Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president. "Using our advanced engineering and design capabilities, we completely redefined outboard performance."

Learn more about the new Mercury V12 600-hp Verado here:

Product innovations include the following:

• The world's first V12 outboard, the 600-hp Verado engine features a naturally aspirated, large‑displacement, quad‑cam powerhead that generates the torque needed to get heavy boats out of the hole and on plane quickly, and to accelerate up to rated speed rapidly.

• The industry's first two‑speed automatic transmission for an outboard optimizes engine rpm according to workload, facilitating powerful acceleration and highly efficient performance at cruise.

• The industry's first steerable gearcase on an outboard pivots independently underwater while the engine's powerhead remains in a space‑saving fixed position. This provides more room for multi-engine configurations and a wider steering angle for agile handling. With help from contra-rotating propellers, it also has better "bite" in the water for docking and other close‑quarters maneuvering.

Mercury is also touting several enhanced Mercury technologies that work in conjunction to enable the V12 Verado outboard to deliver "exceptional fuel economy and range." For example, a test with twin 600s on a Sea Ray SLX 400 running at 4,000 rpm and 35 mph burned 40.3 gph, or 0.9 mpg, with a range of 328 miles.

"It's incredibly fuel-efficient, so boaters can go farther and stay out longer. It's so smooth and quiet that you can have a conversation while the engines are running. It's durable, reliable and easy to maintain. There's nothing else like the V12 Verado outboard in the marketplace today," Drees says.

The Mercury Marine V12 Verado outboard will be available this spring. Retail pricing will be in the $77,000 range.