The Case for a Mercury Racing V6 Outboard
Let me start by saying what an amazing group the team at Mercury Racing is. When it comes to the marine business, especially on the engine side, there is hardly a more dedicated group of people that not only push the envelope for performance but also constructed an extremely viable business segment for Mercury Marine. Mercury Racing is the dominant performance brand for outboards and sterndrives because it’s run by enthusiasts and has become a powerful player in the pleasure segment. The branding of the new outboards as “R” engines and the Mercury Racing brand itself is not only just cool but are genuinely racing and enthusiast products to the core. I think the Racing brand is such a leader that it can grow in several directions business wise. I want to make the case for a Mercury Racing V6 outboard for consumers and the business.
To me, it’s fairly simple. The new four stroke platform from Mercury is great. Mercury Marine nailed the key points; they are powerful, easy to maintain, very price competitive and cover a large range of uses. The V8 platform in particular has several different lines in each horsepower segment, fitting very specific needs with different options. Every V8 model from Racing, ProXS, Verado or Sea Pro fits a very specific segment. This makes the 4.6L V8 platform incredibly ambidextrous; it covers a lot of ground. But the V6 is equally impressive in every respect and a very similar architecture yet isn’t utilized nearly as broadly as the V8. There are reasons for that, the V6 takes up a tighter horsepower range, albeit a very popular range. But Mercury, through the Racing division, could double the reach of the V6 platform without cannibalizing the V8 in a bad way.
The 250R is a good engine but too niche in a way. And, for 250 HP it’s a bit heavy and the gearcase is a bit oversize in this power range. With some setup, the big V8 can work nicely even on a light tunnel like this Mirage.
When it comes to sales, the Mercury Racing 300R is a winner. The engine itself is fantastic, with optional gearcases, optional gear ratios, and even an optional HD mid section; the 300R makes the most of the platform. And, because of how powerful the tuned V8 from Mercury Racing is, the 300R covers a lot of ground for consumers. Twin engine sport cats, twin or triple sport center consoles to smaller single engine sport boats, you really can’t beat the power to weight of the 300R and the value it packs. With the options the 300R has, it can suit so many boats. But, the little brother, the 250R, doesn’t sell nearly as well and there is a reason for that.
The Mercury Racing 300R is a powerhouse, outperforming every 300 HP on the market, making 328 HP at the prop, and loads of torque. By offering great options, the svelte V8 appeals to many boaters.
The 250R is a great engine but it is too specific. With no options, you get a 250 ProXS with a sport master and voila, you get the 250R. For the price, anyone who doesn’t need the 300R, can justify the great value it offers, but let’s be honest, the larger Sport Master and weight of the V8 at the 250 HP level make it a tough sell. This is primarily aimed at the single engine boat category. Sales aren’t high for this engine. What if, you took the V6 which already comes as a 225, is about 50 Lbs less and has a lower profile and were to offer it as a 225R and a 250R to replace the V8 version?
As everyone knows, this is a business and a big one but this makes business sense as well as market sense. Here’s why. You’d take a low volume V8 model off the shelf, and add two V6 models that would at least double the 250R sales volume while increasing margin. Take what makes the 300R so successful, solid mounts, gear case options and the V6 225R and 250R would cover a lot of ground. A 225R could be mildly tuned and mostly made of hardware upgrades, whereas the 250R version could be more of a tuned engine, like the 300R is; with a different cam profile, ECU, exhuast and increased RPM range.
The 3.4L DOHC V6 is very similar in architecture to the V8 but he lower profile and lighter weight make it more appropriate for the sub 250 HP market. Offered in the 175, 200 and 225 range, the V6 is a workhorse.
I am seeing a renewed interest in single engine boats, as well as twin engine performance center consoles and sport boats. The performance fishing market alone is quite large. Would it cannibalize the V8 ProXS engines? Only a little bit, but in business, that’s not a bad thing, in fact you want to have customers adding one more of your products to their list of choices over your competitors rather than lose them all together.
The relatively light and compact nature of the V6 make it a great candidate for twins, especially on sport center consoles like this 30 Concept. It just needs solid mounts, tie bar, optional gearcases and be tuned to rev a little higher. A 250 HP version would be even better.
A 225R V6, with solid mounts, optional Torque Master or Sport Master and 1.75 gears would really open a new market for the V6. Adding the 250R V6 variant would really boost sales as it would be an improvement over the current V8 250R in every way, including power to weight and cost. I know sometimes we wish Mercury Racing would make more niche market engines for fun, that’s just not how business works unfortunately. But, if the business case is there, it becomes a different story. Racing’s business is essentially niche with good margins and a purpose built product. They know their customer. To me, this makes a lot of sense from every angle and increases the range of the V6 four stroke platform for Mercury Marine. Mercury Racing introduced the ulta niche little 60R recently and demonstrated their creativity to address those markets.
For Mercury Racing, a V6 225R / 250R would be a winner for the business and consumer.
The size, weight, price and margins for Mercury would make the R version of the V6 a winner.
