For more than five decades since its establishment as Mercury Marine Hi-Performance Products Department in 1973, Mercury Racing has provided amateur and professional boaters with a complete line of marine racing and luxury performance products. Successive generations of outboard and sterndrive engines have continually raised the performance bar, setting new standards of power and prestige on the water. Today the Mercury Racing brand represents the pinnacle of luxury marine power and performance.

Mercury Racing celebrated its 50-year anniversary throughout 2023 with a series of special events and product introductions showcasing five decades of Wide Open performance and advancing its dominant position as the leader in luxury performance boating.

The Celebration Begins

The anniversary year began on the eve of the Miami International Boat Show in February with a nighttime gala featuring the introduction of the new V10 400R outboard and Ventera performance propeller. Along with the new products came the announcement of a year-long schedule of activities highlighting Mercury Racing’s 50th Anniversary and its legacy of innovation and passionate pursuit of power.

Throughout the anniversary year Mercury Racing displayed its history with a commemorative logo, a special heritage web page highlighting the company's historic milestones, and a variety of interactive digital and in-person experiences—all celebrating the decades of high performance innovation.

A Festival of Speed

The 50th Anniversary celebration continued in August with the Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge, a milestone event in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The inaugural event brought the top categories of U.S. powerboat racing, the UIM Class 1 World Championship and F1 Powerboat Championship, together in the same location for the first time at a marine performance festival along the Lake Michigan waterfront.

Setting a New Standard

The culmination of the anniversary year came in June with the launch of the new 500R, the most powerful and technologically advanced outboard available for performance sport boats. Loaded with innovative features such as humidity compensation technology, an Advanced Racing Core (ARC) midsection for durability and performance, a new R-Drive gearcase design and an improved steering system, the supercharged 500R sets the new benchmark for luxury power and performance.

Building on this foundation of excellence, Mercury Racing enters 2024 poised to open a new chapter of innovation and ready to propel new generations of boaters to yet-unimaginable heights of power and performance on the water.