The Long Wait for the 200-HP Mercury FOURSTROKE (NOT VERADO)
Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:18 pm
Several years ago, around the time that Mercury introduced a 150-HP FOURSTROKE (NOT VERADO) engine, there was a great deal of talk about how this engine was just the beginning of an entire new family of engines to come from Mercury that would be derivatives or variations or enhancements of the 150-HP FOURSTROKE and would have higher horsepower, perhaps 200-HP or even 225-HP. Talk about these new-but-yet-to-be-seen engines to come soon from Mercury became so prevalent that I started a thread on that topic, asking for help in finding any actual public comments from Mercury about these engines--not that they were available but comments that they were being developed. That was back in July 2013, more than four years ago. (The discussion is archived, like 99.99-percent of all forum discussions going back over 15 years are archived, and is still available.)
The (at that time called "NEW") Mercury 150-HP FOURSTROKE was based on a 3.0-liter in-line four-cylinder engine with a very simple eight-valve (or two-per-cylinder) (or one intake and out exhaust valve per cylinder) design, with none of the modern enhancements associated with cam phasing or variable valve timing, features then and still common on most competitors' engines. But some participants were certain that Mercury could build on this engine and its sales success--which was also described as being very good or exceptional--and turn out 200-HP engines.
I was just checking at the fine Mercury Marine website on outboard engines to see if they had, indeed, developed some new version of the 3.0-liter in-line four-cylinder block with a total of eight valves and made it produce 200-HP or more. I did not find any new engines at 200-HP that could be in any way be attributed to being developments of the 3.0-liter block--really no new engines at all.
The Mercury outboard line at the 200-HP level seem to be just as it was more than four years ago; there are two choices, both VERADO engines. One is the smaller 1.7-liter displacement FOURSTROKE VERADO 200, and the other is the larger 2.6-displacement FOURSTROKE VERADO 200 PRO.
One prediction made four years ago about the Mercury engine line that has come true: my prediction that the (then called "NEW") Mercury 150 FOURSTROKE (NOT VERADO) would completely cannibalize sales of the (then) Mercury 150 FOURSTROKE VERADO. That seems to have happened, as a 150-HP FOURSTROKE VERADO engine is no longer available.
I find that you can get a 175-HP FOURSTROKE VERADO, and that seems very interesting, on this basis: if the 150-HP FOURSTROKE (NOT VERADO) was able to be enhanced for more horsepower, the next tier up from 150 would be 175-HP. That the 3.0-liter 150-HP block has not been tuned-up to be a 175, and Mercury still sells the smalll-displacement four-cylinder 1.7-liter VERADO at that horsepower seem like evidence that the "NEW" 3.0-liter block is just not going to get scaled up to more horsepower.
Although it has taken four years for the air to clear, I think it is safe to say that all those guys talking up the 200-HP version of the 3.0-liter {then called "NEW") 150-HP FOURSTROKE were just blowing smoke; I think their enthusiasm for the Mercury brand overcame their rational thought. But perhaps the story is not over. Once again we are entering the end of model year production and a new year begins. Maybe Mercury this Fall will add new models, based on the 3.0-liter block, with more than 150-HP. The long wait continues.
The (at that time called "NEW") Mercury 150-HP FOURSTROKE was based on a 3.0-liter in-line four-cylinder engine with a very simple eight-valve (or two-per-cylinder) (or one intake and out exhaust valve per cylinder) design, with none of the modern enhancements associated with cam phasing or variable valve timing, features then and still common on most competitors' engines. But some participants were certain that Mercury could build on this engine and its sales success--which was also described as being very good or exceptional--and turn out 200-HP engines.
I was just checking at the fine Mercury Marine website on outboard engines to see if they had, indeed, developed some new version of the 3.0-liter in-line four-cylinder block with a total of eight valves and made it produce 200-HP or more. I did not find any new engines at 200-HP that could be in any way be attributed to being developments of the 3.0-liter block--really no new engines at all.
The Mercury outboard line at the 200-HP level seem to be just as it was more than four years ago; there are two choices, both VERADO engines. One is the smaller 1.7-liter displacement FOURSTROKE VERADO 200, and the other is the larger 2.6-displacement FOURSTROKE VERADO 200 PRO.
One prediction made four years ago about the Mercury engine line that has come true: my prediction that the (then called "NEW") Mercury 150 FOURSTROKE (NOT VERADO) would completely cannibalize sales of the (then) Mercury 150 FOURSTROKE VERADO. That seems to have happened, as a 150-HP FOURSTROKE VERADO engine is no longer available.
I find that you can get a 175-HP FOURSTROKE VERADO, and that seems very interesting, on this basis: if the 150-HP FOURSTROKE (NOT VERADO) was able to be enhanced for more horsepower, the next tier up from 150 would be 175-HP. That the 3.0-liter 150-HP block has not been tuned-up to be a 175, and Mercury still sells the smalll-displacement four-cylinder 1.7-liter VERADO at that horsepower seem like evidence that the "NEW" 3.0-liter block is just not going to get scaled up to more horsepower.
Although it has taken four years for the air to clear, I think it is safe to say that all those guys talking up the 200-HP version of the 3.0-liter {then called "NEW") 150-HP FOURSTROKE were just blowing smoke; I think their enthusiasm for the Mercury brand overcame their rational thought. But perhaps the story is not over. Once again we are entering the end of model year production and a new year begins. Maybe Mercury this Fall will add new models, based on the 3.0-liter block, with more than 150-HP. The long wait continues.