Mercury Racing 1350 Demand Still Outpacing 1100

The Mercury Racing 1100 was introduced at this year’s Miami International Boat Show.

While the first sets of Mercury Racing 1100 engines have been shipped—a pair of the quad-overhead cam twin-turbocharged powerplants are currently being installed in a 48-foot Marine Technology, Inc., at TNT Custom Marine in Miami—and more are the on the way, demand for the more-powerful 1350 remains stronger, according to Mercury Racing’s Fred Kiekhaefer.

“The 1350—people really still seem to like the number,” said Kiekhaefer, the president of the Fond Du Lac, Wis., high-performance engine company. “We have a nice mix of orders for both engines coming in, but we still have more 1350s on order than 1100s.”

Kiekhaefer said he expects demand for the 1100 to increase “when fuel is a challenge.” The 1100 runs on 89-octane gasoline, whereas the 1350 requires 91-octane fuel.

Production of the 1350 and 1100 engines is not significantly different and is handled in the same line or area in the Mercury Racing plants. That means total output capacity, rather that how many of each engine is ordered, is the limiting production factor.

The 1100 was introduced at the 2011 Miami International Boat Show, one year after the 1350 was introduced at the same event.