Author: Chris Berlinski

NiCom-Plated Cylinder Bores on QC4v Race Engine Enables HP Boost from 1350 to 1650 Case History: Mercury Racing 1650 HP The need for speed in offshore powerboat racing is beyond obvious, but breaking barriers is easier said than done. The engineers at Mercury Racing (Fond du Lac, WI) wanted to create the world’s most powerful recreational inboard marine engine, setting a goal of 1350 HP. In the process, they exceeded their own expectations and developed the 1650 Race Sterndrive, a state-of-the-art, turbo-charged, 32 valve V-8 engine which runs on pure 112 Octane plus race gas. It is the most powerful production engine Mercury Racing has ever offered. Critical to achieving this breakthrough was collaboration with U.S. Chrome’s Wisconsin cylinder plating team on a “linerless” engine block maximizing displacement in all eight cylinder bores…