The World’s Most Powerful Outboard: Seven Marine 627

The title for the world’s most powerful outboard has been owned by Seven Marine, with their 557 HP outboard, for several years. As of the 2016 season, however, that changes—thanks to the introduction of a new Seven Marine model, the 627 SpectraBlade. Here, enjoy the eye candy:

This new model is based on the same 6.2L GM Gen 4 GM engine (designed for Cadillac) as the 557. Seven Marine squeezes it into outboard form by keeping the engine horizontal, instead of mounting it vertically like most outboards. They managed to eek out the extra power by modifying the cylinder heads and exhaust valves, and they also redesigned the hydrodynamics of the lower unit. The anti-ventilation plate has been enlarged as well, to assist with planing. That’s a big deal, since these 1,000 pound engines often go on very large center consoles and need quite a bit of surface area to help jump up out of the hole.

The other new aspect to the 627 SpectraBlade is its LED lighting. Yes, this is rather silly in the grand scheme of things, but even I have to admit that it looks awfully nifty when your outboard glows in hues of blue, red, or green. Enough said, about that.

Now, for the bad news: Unless you have $100K to drop on a single powerplant, you’re probably not going to end up with a Seven Marine 627 sitting on the transom of your boat. (Exact pricing varies, due to the custom nature of most of these engines). And truth be told, more often it’ll be two or three of them, because they commonly find a home on 40-foot-plus mega-console fishboats. Outrageous? Ummm… yes. It doesn’t seem quite right that a single outboard should cost as much as many people’s homes. Still, if you want the most powerful outboard on the face of the planet, this is it—the Seven Marine 627 SpectraBlade.