I recently had the opportunity to see and drive some of Mercury’s new Project X motors. It was obvious to me right away that Mercury pulled out all the stops on this innovative long awaited motor, making it definately worth the wait! I was fortunate enough to be able to get an inside look at the internal design of the engine as well as the state of the art manufacturing processes that were necessary to produce such an advanced and sophisticated engine. My conclusion is that this is truly an engineering masterpiece and believe that this revolutionary 4 Stroke design will change forever the way we think about outboard motors. This motor from the tip of the skeg to the top of the cowling is trick, with features that emanate ruggedness and reliability. I wish I was able to go into detail about some of the innovative features of this motor, but that will have to wait until after the public unveiling of this motor at the Miami Boat Show coming up next week Feb 12th-17th.


The most interesting thing that you notice when you start the motor up is the lack of noise, vibration and lets not forget smoke. One might expect this but certainly not to this extent; this was amazingly quiet and smooth. The engine package incorporates what I like to call their fly by wire Digital Shift and Throttle controls, no more hard shifting or seized cables. The controls themselves are adjustable, providing the operator with whatever feel of smoothness and tension that you may prefer (very nice). Grabbing the controls and moving them forward gives you a feel of the effortless smooth continuous power that is at your control. The bottom end power was very impressive and it didn’t stop there, the torque curve of this engine is so broad that whatever RPM you are at prepare to hang on when you push the throttles forward. It also comes standard with an integrated Electro-Hydraulic power steering system that makes driving a real pleasure, with only fingertip pressure need to steer the boat at any speed. When driving the boat I sensed a feeling of almost automotive-like comfort and control. The engine package seemed to integrate itself into the boat so well that you almost thought that you were driving a car, it is a little hard to describe but it’s just a more turn the key and go feel. Gone are the concerns about the engines that are behind you contributing to a totally new and enjoyable boating experience.
If you are looking for a new boat or planning on upgrading and repowering your current one, you owe it yourself to head to the Mercury Marine booth at the Miami Boat Show Feb 12th-17th. Be sure to check out this outrageous new Project X motor then experience for yourself a demo ride at the in water portion of the show and see what all of the buzz is about.
This engine, clearly light years ahead of the competition will make your purchase one of the easiest decisions that you will have to make.

Looking forward to seeing you at the show.

Marty Signorelli