the BRP engineers developed the Rotax. its what they understand.
Actually, Rotax has been building aircraft engines far longer than BRP has existed. The Rotax 912 is legendary as an aircraft engine for reliability and durability, and received FAA certification in 1995. In 1998 Rotax outsold all other aircraft engine manufacturers combined. Rotax has been building aircraft engines for over 100 years, they were founded in 1920 in Dresden, Germany. It was purchased by Fichtel & Sachs in 1930, and by Bombardier Inc. in 1970. Today it is headquartered in Gunskirchen, Austria.
BRP was spun off from Bombardier Inc. in 2003 and retained ownership of Rotax. Rotax is a well-regarded engine manufacturer, renowned for building high quality engines in both two-stroke and four-stroke configurations.
The powerhead in the new Rotax outboard is an Evinrude E-TEC G2, 1.9L three-cylinder two-stroke used formerly in the Evinrude 115 and 150hp outboards, rebranded as Rotax. The 150hp version uses RAVE (Rotax Automatic Variable Exhaust) exhaust valves.
I suspect these will be quite popular in pontoons. They are so quiet and smooth that you can't tell that the engine is running if you touch it while it's running. It is a perfect match for pontoon boaters since the engine is totally maintenance-free, doesn't require oil changes and has has one touch winterization by just pushing a button. There was nothing wrong with the Evinrude E-TEC two-strokes, they are superior to any four-stroke for torque, power-to-weight and durability, get better fuel economy, and they use less oil than oil changes require in a comparable four-stroke. The main problem was market perception because everybody got four-stroke tattoo's on their forehead and if it wasn't four-stroke then it must not be any good.
BRP intends to change that with the re-branding to Rotax, because especially the pontoon crowd could care less how many strokes it has. If it's quiet, out of the way, just runs and doesn't require any attention or maintenance it's perfect for Party Barges, Lake Luxury Yachts, or whatever you want to call them. And pontoons are the single most popular hull style on inland lakes. Our lake here has over 100 miles of shoreline, cruise the shores and look at what's moored at all the lake home docks, out of 100 boats only 5 or 6 are v-hulls, the rest are pontoons. They are popular because people put the whole family on them, plus invite their friends with their kids. They go out for a day of boating, they got a grille going on the deck, kids are jumping off the side and having a blast, everybody else is kicked back in like barco loungers enjoying a cold one in the shade because it has a big top on it - they are an incredibly popular boating style. The boating industry sells almost 5,000 pontoons for every salt water boat that is sold.
I predict BRP will sell these by the truckload on pontoons.
www.manitoupontoonboats.com
www.alumacraft.com
