Cox switches to V8 diesel power

Previously this outboard was going to have an innovative opposed piston format engine. “Development of the opposed piston engine was taking longer than we anticipated”, commented Joel Reid, the Global sales manager of Cox. “So we decided to develop this V-8 engine in order to bring the outboard to the market more quickly”

This compact and lightweight V-8 diesel has been developed in conjunction with diesel engine specialists Ricardo and it features twin turbochargers and a common rail fuel injection system. The block and cylinder heads are cast from an aluminium alloy to reduce weight allowing the complete outboard to weigh just 350 kg. The engine operates at a maximum of 4000 rpm and a tubular heat exchanger allows the block to be cooled with a closed circuit fresh water system.

The drive leg follows standard outboard motor practice allowing the engine to be a direct replacement for current petrol engines. The rotation of the propellers is programmable through the ECU to allow clockwise and anti-clockwise rotation and various leg lengths will be available.

“We are planning to have the pre-production engines available for trials later this year and to have the engine in full production during 2019”, said Reid. “One of the bonuses of using this V-8 engine unit is that it still has a lot of development potential with the current rating fairly conservative. We are confident that we will be able to develop versions that will have power outputs of up to 400 hp using the same basic engine which will open up a range of potential new applications.”

This new V-8 diesel outboard is rated at 300 hp for light commercial use and this is where the company sees the main application. “There has been tremendous interest from the military in a powerful diesel outboard because of the ban on carrying petrol on board military vessels and in military operations,” said Reid.