2015 Outboard Update: What's New and Hot
A lot of new product announcements have come out in the world of outboards recently, and that's good news for everyone.
February 22, 2015
Let's take a step back and look at what's happened in the world of outboards in the past few months—it's been about as active as anyone alive can ever remember. Here are the highlights:
You want new outboard engines? You've got them. Lots of them.
- Evinrude shocked us all when they rolled out the E-TEC Gen2 line. To see them in action, watch Evinrude ETEC G2 300 HP Outboards On Water Test Run. Or read The Outboard Expert: New Evinrude E-TEC G2 Outboards for a detailed technical explanation.
- Yamaha came out with no less than six new models; you can read about them all in The Outboard Expert: Yamaha Expands V Max SHO Outboard Line for 2015.
- Suzuki introduced a 200 HP four-cylinder powerplant. Read up on this one in The Outboard Expert: New 2015 Suzuki Outboards. They also expanded the model line that can integrate with their Precision Control joystick.
- Mercury Racing introduced the biggest Verado yet, the 400R. Take 4 of these babies for one fast, FAST ride: watch Mercury Racing Verado 400R: Test Run
- Seven Marine unveiled a new 627 HP outboard, which is even more powerful than the Seven Marine 557, formerly known as the most powerful outboard engine in the world. W-H-E-W!
What does it tell you when all these new outboard engines are hitting the water at the same time? First off, the economic prognosticators may finally be getting things right when they say the economy is bouncing back. More importantly, we're seeing previously pent-up R & D departments go hog-wild with innovation, as both budgets and consumer demand return to higher levels.
Want more proof? Just take a peek at some of the rockin' new boats that were also introduced at this year's Miami Boat Show:
- Hydrasports 53 Suenos, the largest center console ever
- Sea Ray 470 Sundancer, a model that targets Sea Ray's core upper-end buyer
- Mystic Powerboats' M3900, a boat first discussed a year ago at the 2014 Miami show.
Outboards and boats only tell part of the story—there were also new drive systems, accessories, and electronics galore. Stay tuned to the pages of boats.com, where we'll be bringing you a steady flow of news, product reviews, and on-the-water tests.
