Quiet, smooth and high performance. Those were just some of the buzz words used to describe Mercury Marine’s industry-first V-10 outboards, the all-new 5.7L 350- and 400-hp Verados. The V-10 engines will replace the company’s inline, 6-cylinder 400 and 350.

According to Mercury, the new V-10 engines run 45 percent quieter at cruise while delivering high-end performance across the entire RPM range. Mercury now offers outboard engines in V-6, V-8, V-10 and V-12 configurations. At a media unveiling, the company said the V-10 outboards are a product of Mercury’s continued investment in research and development as well as production capacity to keep up with robust customer demand. The company has invested $2 billion since 2008, and its manufacturing footprint has expanded to more than 3 million square feet.

“At Mercury, we’re never done,” said Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president. “We have continual new programs being developed.”

At a special event at Lake X in Central Florida, I tested the new 400 in single, twin, triple and even quad installations. The motor is very torquey with the four-blade Revolution X prop. The power and lift of the engine shot the boat out of the hole and the mid-range power was very impressive. On a Valhalla 33 center console, we were about to hit 64 mph, which the captain said is one or two mph faster than the old 400s. And, he admitted that they are still “tweaking” things. 

To help boaters power their air-conditioning and onboard electronics, Mercury designed the V10s to support an onboard battery system that can do away with the need for a diesel genset. The V-10 outboards come standard with a 150-amp alternator that will swiftly charge onboard batteries. They will also be offered with an optional dual-mode 48V/12V alternator to pair with Navico Group’s Fathom e-power system, an integrated lithium-ion auxiliary power management system designed to power all of your onboard systems without a generator.

“This engine turns any boat it’s on into a high-performance boat,” said Brunswick CEO David Foulkes.

Weighing 695 pounds, the V-10 engines have the same 26-inch mount spacing as the V8 outboards to suit current boat designs that call for trips or quads. At the core of the new engine is a naturally aspirated powerhead. It leverages class-leading 5.7L displacement and a performance-inspired quad-cam design for power, top-end speed and acceleration.

A hydrodynamic gearcase turns the all-new Revolution X propeller for better fuel economy and lift. Larger diameter and wider blades combined with the deep ratio of the new gearcase provide excellent handling, acceleration and high efficiency from low speed all the way to wide-open throttle.

The V-10 Verado engines are compatible with a new Mercury electric steering system for multi-engine configurations that enhances steering responsiveness, simplifies rigging and according to Mercury, a more than 50-percent reduction in energy consumption.

“We challenged our engineers to improve acceleration and overall performance with the new V-10 Verado outboards, while also making them quieter and lighter than competitors’ outboards in this horsepower range,” said Tim Reid, Mercury Marine vice president of product development and engineering. “Once again they exceeded expectations while also incorporating technologies that make boat operation and maintenance intuitively simple.”