Mercury aims to capture share in watersports market with new V8

Mercury Marine says it aims to capture a bigger share of the watersports tow boat segment with the introduction of its MerCruiser T8200 tow sport inboard, announced early Tuesday.

Built on Mercury’s 8.2L V8 big-block platform, the new engine will be offered in a choice of 380 horsepower or 430 horsepower variants which run on 87 octane fuel, each incorporating the firm’s Smart Tow digital control systems. Both power variants are paired with a 1.73:1 gear ratio transmission that’s optimised for tow sport performance to deliver what Mercury describes as class-leading torque.

The new engine is fully compatible with Mercury Smart Tow and Surf Control technologies, as well as the Mercury Engine Guardian system which uses more than 40 internal sensors to monitor engine performance and detect potential problems. Premium corrosion-preventive technologies allow the new inboards to be backed with a four-year corrosion warranty.

“Watersports such as wake surfing continue to grow in popularity, with today’s boaters demanding bigger boats with more features and amenities,” said Mercury Marine president, John Buelow. “To deliver what boaters in this segment want and power a new generation of fun seekers, we created the T8200 tow sport inboard, backed by 50 years of engineering excellence that have made MerCruiser the legend it is today.”

The new inboard will make its debut on three models of Varatti wake boats. Varatti Boats, a division of Floe International Inc, produces a range of watersports tow vessels from its 150,000ft² production facility in Minnesota.