Mercury Marine has introduced an all-new outboard engine, code named "Project <br />X." While company representatives have remained silent about this <br />revolutionary powerplant, BoatTEST recently saw this new 4-stroke, 250 <br />horsepower engine in action at the Mercury dealer meeting. Mercury <br />demonstrated Project X as a single-engine setup on a Triton bass boat and as a <br />twin-engine installation on a Boston Whaler. <br />Our initial tests show the engine is so quiet you can hardly hear it running <br />at idle, and it is sure to shatter the commonly held notion that 4-strokes are <br />slow out of the hole. It took just 1.5 seconds to plane off on the Triton and <br />less than 4 seconds on the Whaler. The engine, appropriate for both fresh- and <br />saltwater applications, appears to be almost shake-free, with no noticeable <br />smoke upon start-up or acceleration. Torque was also impressive in the <br />midrange, unlike many 4-strokes in the past. While Mercury would not confirm <br />an official release date for the new engine, it is sure to cause big waves in <br />the industry."
