Away from the bustle of the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Venetian Marina in downtown Miami, Mercury Racing planted its flag at Grove Harbour Marina in Coconut Grove during the 2024 Miami International Boat Show.
The private event was an opportunity for a real-world test of the Mercury Racing 400R and 500R outboards with both models released in 2023 as part of a busy 50th anniversary celebration. In addition to showcasing the outboards, Mercury Racing announced it was now offering the 500R with Joystick Piloting for Outboards.
The JPO technology provides 360-degree control with throttle, shift and steering integrated into a seamless package.
“With the tech advancements and size of the 500R, we weren’t able to provide JPO when the engine was introduced,” said Jeff Broman, director of category for Mercury Racing, who attended the Miami event. “Our engineering team has tested multiple setups and now the 500R with JPO is available for applications running speeds up to 80 mph, ultimately allowing the 500R to be an option for luxury pontoons and ribs.”
During the three-day event that coincided with the start of the Miami Boat Show, Mercury Racing had nine models for testing from center consoles to a pontoon boat. Being away from the boat show traffic, the boats could show their full potential without cross wakes from ships, manufacturer demos and the recreational boats on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Mercury Racing showcased a Nor-Tech 392 Super Fish and a Sunsation 32CCX with 400R power plants, which were introduced at the 2023 Miami International Boat Show. Both boats were fun out on the water for different reasons. The 32CCX felt like a sport boat and very responsive to the twin 400R outboards, while the Nor-Tech 392 with its 10’ beam mashed the swells.
With the introduction of the 500R in summer 2023, the new Mercury Racing outboard has become a favorite among the performance crowd. Mercury Racing had seven models with 500R outboards on the transom available for demos, including a pontoon and a rigid inflatable boat.
Showcasing the power was a DCB M37 catamaran and center consoles including an Adrenaline 47 Reaper, a Cigarette 41 Nighthawk, a Nor-Tech 400 Super Sport and Formula’s 380 SSC. (Poker Runs America will provide walk-throughs of individual models in the coming weeks.)
After running the boats with the 500R outboards, it’s easy to see why the outboard is so popular. It offers better overall performance with good fuel efficiency.
The Mercury Racing Propellers team introduced an all-new Propeller Case to its lineup. The case features military-grade injection-molded construction and has an internal fixture for M6 and M8 Drive Cleavers and one for Outboard Cleavers, including the Flo Turq hub-equipped propeller line.
“Our propellers are designed to maximize boat performance and handling, and we needed to elevate our Propeller Case to match,” said Nicholas Petersen, performance propeller manager. “The new cases are solid, lockable and stackable to provide protection and convenience for boaters and race teams.”
The Propeller Case will ship standard with all Precision Series propeller purchases and is available to purchase separately at Mercury Racing dealers.
