High Performance Focus

While the business glided through the ups and downs of the 70’s and 80’s with a steady stream of innovative upgrades to critical components, high-performance racing became a major focus. Young Fred Kiekhaefer joined Mercury Marine in 1988 as President the Hi-Performance Division when Mercury Marine purchased Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors. Fred had bought the company after his father’s death in 1983 and launched successful products, making it an appealing target for Mercury Marine to gobble up in its corporate buying spree of the 80’s. Through this surprising and poetic series of events, the Kiekhaefer name returned to the company it had created in 1939 from 385 rejected THOR motors.

Fred enjoyed the purely promotional agenda of the Hi-Performance Division. The group was not responsible to generate revenue, only to use Mercury products in winning races and create high profile visibility for the brand. By 1993, the fat money sponsorship days came to an end when Fred was given the challenge of making the Hi-Performance Division a moneymaker. Fred made the difficult decision to stop racing sponsorships cold turkey, and Mercury Marine ceased to sponsor racing events or teams. This difficult decision proved to be a wise one, and the Sport Jet 90 was introduced in 1993.

A 90HP Jet engine followed that, and a 120HP and a 175HPV6 was launched in 1995. These jet engines energized the entire industry and satisfied recreational boaters’ ever-growing appetite for speed. The introduction of the Optimax in 1996 put Mercury Marine 10 years ahead of Federal Emission Guidelines. The 200HP fuel-injected, two-stroke outboard provided high fuel efficiency and smooth performance, allowing Mercury Optimax teams to dominate international competition through the year 2000.