Originally Posted by Downtown42

Thursday, June 10 Site Map


6.09.04—MERCURY RACING DROPPING THREE ENGINES FROM LINEUP: Once the backbone of the Mercury Racing engine line, the HP500EFI will be discontinued in 2005. Also on the chopping block for the coming model-year are the HP575SCi and Scorpion 377 power plants. Despite the discontinuations, however, the Fond du Lac, Wisc., company will continue to stock parts for the engines.

"The 525 is, by far, our most popular engine," said Rick Mackie of Mercury Racing. "It's just taken over in consumer use and racing. With everything it offers, it's a pretty good value."

That value—and consumer response to it—played a significant role in Mercury Racing's decision to discontinue the HP575SCi. With a Bravo XR drive, the HP525EFI retails for $45,216. An HP575SCi engine with the same drive package costs $56,403. Approximately 25 hp or less separates the two engines. Plus, the HP525EFI features closed cooling and SmartCraft technology. The only other Mercury Racing engine with SmartCraft is the 1075SCi.

The elimination of the 575 will leave Mercury Racing with a significant gap between its 525-plus-hp HP525EFI and its supercharged 1,075-hp HP1075SCi engines. Mackie said the company is currently developing an engine to fill the void.

Mercury Racing is currently backlogged with orders for the HP525EFI. Mackie said the company hopes to be caught up by the end of this month.

"The whole market seemed to really open around boat-show time," said Mackie. "Some of that was forecast, but obviously some of it was not—on both our side and the OEM side. And around the first of the year, we put together a promotion around racing that was quite a success. I think that accounted for about 20 (HP525EFI) engines."

A stronger performer in the field, the small-block-based 377 Scorpion never performed well in terms of sales. Its chances for success dropped further when MerCruiser, a separate company from Mercury Racing though both are under the Mercury Marine umbrella, introduced the 320-hp MX 6.2 MPI engine two years ago.

"The pure cost of the 377 with all its specialty parts—it just didn't move very well," said Mackie. "With the 6.2, you get similar power and SmartCraft at a lower price.—Matt Trulio

Originally Posted by sy goldberg

HEY BOB ! What difference does it make to you ? I'm sure oars will always be available.

Originally Posted by Downtown42

Thursday, June 10 Site Map


6.09.04—MERCURY RACING DROPPING THREE ENGINES FROM LINEUP: Once the backbone of the Mercury Racing engine line, the HP500EFI will be discontinued in 2005. Also on the chopping block for the coming model-year are the HP575SCi and Scorpion 377 power plants. Despite the discontinuations, however, the Fond du Lac, Wisc., company will continue to stock parts for the engines.

"The 525 is, by far, our most popular engine," said Rick Mackie of Mercury Racing. "It's just taken over in consumer use and racing. With everything it offers, it's a pretty good value."

That value—and consumer response to it—played a significant role in Mercury Racing's decision to discontinue the HP575SCi. With a Bravo XR drive, the HP525EFI retails for $45,216. An HP575SCi engine with the same drive package costs $56,403. Approximately 25 hp or less separates the two engines. Plus, the HP525EFI features closed cooling and SmartCraft technology. The only other Mercury Racing engine with SmartCraft is the 1075SCi.

The elimination of the 575 will leave Mercury Racing with a significant gap between its 525-plus-hp HP525EFI and its supercharged 1,075-hp HP1075SCi engines. Mackie said the company is currently developing an engine to fill the void.

Mercury Racing is currently backlogged with orders for the HP525EFI. Mackie said the company hopes to be caught up by the end of this month.

"The whole market seemed to really open around boat-show time," said Mackie. "Some of that was forecast, but obviously some of it was not—on both our side and the OEM side. And around the first of the year, we put together a promotion around racing that was quite a success. I think that accounted for about 20 (HP525EFI) engines."

A stronger performer in the field, the small-block-based 377 Scorpion never performed well in terms of sales. Its chances for success dropped further when MerCruiser, a separate company from Mercury Racing though both are under the Mercury Marine umbrella, introduced the 320-hp MX 6.2 MPI engine two years ago.

"The pure cost of the 377 with all its specialty parts—it just didn't move very well," said Mackie. "With the 6.2, you get similar power and SmartCraft at a lower price.—Matt Trulio

Originally Posted by squirt

Dave where did you find this article??? Thanks

Originally Posted by dkwestern

I'm with you, fuel usage is worth a ton of moneyto me alone, I have been considering putting fuel flow meters on both my tanks, because I have no idea how much fuel I burn.

Originally Posted by Pure Adrenaline

what block is the 525efi based on? i thought it was a 502...i could be wrong. doesnt merc. racing only offer 1 yr warranties on its motors?? does the vortec hp3 ever come into play here? how about lightweight turbodiesels with 5 yr warranties....cummins/mercruiser? geez, my head is spinning here!!!!

Originally Posted by HyperBaja

I thought 525 was a 454 with blower?