Caddy Engine Pummels the Waves

FEV Inc. and Seven Marine LLC will use next week's SAE World Congress in Detroit to show off a 557-hp outboard motor the companies say is nearly 60% more powerful than any other outboard on the market.

The unit, which Seven Marine unveiled in prototype form a year ago, is a modified version of the supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine used in the Cadillac CTS-V sport sedan. That aluminum powerplant, a variant of the V-8 used in the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, generates 556 hp and 551 lb-ft of torque.

As an outboard, the horizontally mounted "557" motor features dual 3.5-inch exhausts, closed-loop cooling, an electronic "octane scaler" and computer-controlled transmission from ZF Marine.

FEV, best known for its land-based powertrain engineering expertise, helped Seven Marine finalize the system. The outboard, which was first demonstrated publicly at the Miami International Boat Show in February, is expected to go on sale this summer.