Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation, unveiled the industry’s first-ever V10 outboard with the official launch of its all-new 5.7L 350 and 400hp Verado outboard engines at a special media gathering this morning.

Consistent with the award-winning Verado brand, the new V10 engines will be marketed as the quietest and smoothest in their class, running 45 percent quieter than a leading competitor at cruise. In addition to NVH, the new Verados are not only compatible with the latest Mercury SmartCraft technologies but will also be offered with an optional dual-mode 48V/12V alternator to seamlessly pair with Navico Group’s Fathome-power system, an integrated lithium-ion auxiliary power management system, providing boaters the opportunity to eliminate an onboard generator system.

“The all-new Mercury V10 Verado outboards are exactly what boaters have been asking for in a 350-hp and 400-hp platform,” said Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president. “They are powerful, smooth and quiet. They have many of the same fuel efficiency-enhancing features that are synonymous with our high-horsepower lineup. They also deliver the same kind of premium boating experience that has made Verado outboards legendary. The V10 Verado outboards solidify Mercury’s leadership position in the high-horsepower outboard market.”

The V10 Verado outboards leverage many of the same market-leading features and technologies boaters love about the company’s popular V12, V8 and V6 platforms. The new V10 includes premium refinements and versatility for a wide range of applications, from large saltwater center consoles to single-engine freshwater fishing boats to pontoons and smaller center consoles.

Weighing only 695 pounds and with the same industry-leading 26-inch mount spacing as the V8 outboards, the V10 engines maximize compatibility with current boat designs. This lightweight, compact design provides the performance boaters are looking for and makes them perfect for multi-engine applications or repowering vessels.

"There's no other outboard engine in its class that matches up," Drees said. "We're delivering the quietest high-horsepower engine that Mercury has ever made. If you thought the V12 or the V8 was quiet, just wait till you experience this one in the water. The smoothness of operation, the acceleration, getting that hull out of the water—it's unbelievable."

Here are some of the highlights of the new V10s:

Naturally Aspirated 5.7L V10 Engine: The new platform features the outboard industry’s first V10 naturally aspirated powerhead. It leverages class-leading 5.7L displacement and a performance-inspired quad-cam design to propel boats ahead with exceptional speed and acceleration. A class-leading 150-amp alternator swiftly charges onboard batteries and intelligently supports the boat’s electrical system.

All-New Gearcase: The platform’s all-new hydrodynamic gearcase is engineered to improve performance and durability across multiple applications while also maximizing fuel efficiency. Mercury engineers went back to first principles engineering and designed the all-new Revolution X propeller to perfectly match the V10 Verado in every way. Larger diameter and wider blades combined with the deep ratio of the new gearcase provide excellent handling, thrilling acceleration and high efficiency from low speed all the way to wide-open throttle.

Efficient All-Around Performance: Calibrated to deliver full performance on 87-octane fuel, these outboards also feature efficiency-enhancing technologies, a closed-loop fuel system and Advanced Range Optimization (ARO).

Intuitive Features and Advanced Technologies: Adaptive Speed Control maintains engine rpm despite changes in load or conditions, making climbing large swells easier and cruising at low speeds smoother. Transient Spark Technology electronically adjusts spark timing to optimize low-end power.

The V10 Verado engines will also be compatible with a new Mercury electric steering system for multi-outboard vessels slated to start shipping in February 2023. The new system will offer enhanced steering responsiveness, dramatically simplified rigging and a more than 50% reduction in energy consumption.

Dave Foulkes, CEO of Brunswick Corp., called the new V10 "the lightest, quietest, most fuel-efficient, highest performing, most compact engine in its class. It is an extraordinary piece of machinery. This engine turns any boat that it's on into a high-performance boat. It is also a bridge between the V6, the V8 and the V12, but it is another bridge as well—it's a bridge between conventional engines and electrification. We are finding novel and clever ways to introduce electrification into marine in a way that genuinely benefits the boater. The combination of this engine with this extraordinary, brand-new 48/12V dual-mode alternator and the Fathom system essentially creates a plug-in, house-load hybrid. It is just like a plug-in device: You plug in Fathom at the dock, and then this engine recharges it over time, just like a plug-in hybrid. So it's a fantastic development, and very novel."

“We challenged our engineers to improve acceleration and overall performance with the new V10 Verado outboards, while also making them quieter and lighter than competitors’ outboards in this horsepower range,” said Tim Reid, Mercury Marine vice president of product development and engineering. “Once again they exceeded expectations while also incorporating technologies that make boat operation and maintenance intuitively simple.”

Reid continued: "There's not a part on this high-displacement, naturally aspirated engine that has not been optimized for next-level performance. For example, the advanced midsection that we brought out in 2004 with the original L6 Verado—that has continually been advanced. It looks a lot like the V8, but the sprung mass of the whole outboard has actually been moved forward to give superior performance on high-speed boats, and that just really puts it on rails."

The development of the V10 Verado outboards is a product of Mercury’s continued commitment to invest heavily in R&D and production capacity to keep up with robust customer demand. To that end, the company has invested $2B since 2008, and its manufacturing footprint has expanded to more than 3 million square feet.

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