8:08 AM Fri 19 Feb 2010 GMT
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'Quadzilla - Mercury 1300'
Andy Adams
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Mercury Marine president Mark Schwabero and racing guru Fred Kiekhaefer held a press conference at the 2010 Miami International Boat Show to introduce what Fred calls 'Quadzilla'.
This is a new engine from Mercury Racing and it is a totally custom block with a Formula One-style cross-tied crankshaft to handle huge power. The engine is called the Mercury 1300 in honor of the 1300 hp it produces. Offshore power boat racing will never be the same now that this engine is available.
Fred informed the crowds that 'Quadzilla' is a 9 L V-8 design and the 'Quadzilla' name refers to the fact that it has a four valve per cylinder, dual overhead cam layout for a total of four cams. Although the new engine runs on 91 octane pump gas, it is a water cooled twin turbo engine that revs to 6500 RPM. Borrowing technology from the high-efficiency diesel world, 'Quadzilla' has a common rail port fuel injection system that not only helps achieve the 1300 hp output but also gain 20 to 30% better fuel economy versus competition engines of similar power output.
There will also be a 1350 version. The difference is that that the 1350 engine uses an external air intake which delivers the additional 50 hp.
Anticipating that the boat will mainly be used in salt water applications, Mercury has equipped it with an active anode system of corrosion protection.
As Fred explained at the press conference, during its development, 'Quadzilla' was capable of destroying Mercury's previous top performance drive, so they developed the new M8 version. This new high performance drive combines the best of their current NXT 6 drive but the M8 introduces a hydraulic transmission and beefed up construction to handle up to 35% more capacity. At the same time, Mercury developed a range of 5 and 6 blade surface piercing props for the M8 drive, that are individually CNC machined.
Fred also promises big power but with luxury car driving through the use of Mercury SmartCraft technology, zero effort throttles and special intake and exhaust tuning that keeps the turbos spooled up for instant power. The big engine produces loads of torque and more importantly, Fred claims it delivers instant throttle response to carry the bow during racing in rough water.
Although no price was announced at the show, insiders hinted that Mercury immediately received orders for several sets of the new Mercury 1300. Look for 'Quadzilla' on the racing circuit this spring!
Photo: Fred Kiekhaefer presents 'Quadzilla' - the new Mercury 1300 engine and M8 drive during the 2010 Miami international Boat Show.
by Andy Adams
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Mawson, TAS
