MasterCraft Boats, the world’s leading luxury performance inboard boat manufacturer, has announced it is partnering exclusively with Ilmor Marine engines for its power train needs beginning with the 2012 model year.
“Ilmor is one of the most impressive high-performance engineering companies in the world,” says John Dorton, president and CEO of MasterCraft Boats. “The same exceptional minds that dominate Indy are now dedicated to giving MasterCraft owners a power train experience unlike any the industry has ever seen. And it is all exclusive to MasterCraft.”
Like MasterCraft, Ilmor’s history of success is nothing but exceptional. Founded in 1984 by Mario Illien, Paul Morgan and Roger Penske, Ilmor has become a world leader in high-performance engineering. Legendary drivers like Andretti, Unser, and Castroneves have all driven cars powered by Ilmor engines, which has more than 225 IndyCar race wins, 16 Indianapolis 500 victories, and two Formula One World Championships. In 2003, Ilmor applied its expertise to the marine industry and created a completely unique engine for high-performance powerboats based on the 8.3L Dodge Viper V-10. By 2007, Ilmor had expanded its competitive tradition into powerboat racing, winning three consecutive World Championships in Powerboat P1 racing and capturing an APBA / SBI (USA) Championship in the P1 class. Today, Ilmor high-performance marine engines are offered by many powerboat manufacturing brands, including Donzi, Eliminator, Outerlimits, DCB, Hustler, Stancraft and Sunsation, and more.
Positive response to Ilmor’s products and customer service paved the way for product expansion. In 2010, Ilmor opened its state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot marine engine assembly and test facility in Mooresville, North Carolina, committed to developing and building a new series of inboard GM-based V8 engines for its first manufacturing partner, MasterCraft Boats.
“From the beginning, our goal was to provide MasterCraft with a superior product that would enhance their brand,” says Paul Ray, President of Ilmor Engineering, Inc. “Since that time, our engineering staff has worked non-stop to design the new range of Ilmor MV8 engines, which are built to the same exacting engineering standards as our high-performance racing and powerboat engines. As a result, our companies have agreed to a multi-year exclusive agreement for inboard luxury performance towboats, signaling our commitment to each other and ultimately the customer.”
In addition to partnering with Ilmor Marine for its power train needs, MasterCraft boats also recently unveiled a number of improvements to its 2011 line-up, including all new gel coat schemes, new graphics, new interiors and new tower choices like the ZFT 5p, an electrically powered tower. These new features, including its newly inked agreement with Ilmor, continue to give MasterCraft its notorious competitive edge.
“MasterCraft has a terrific history of working with its partners to bring the latest and greatest to the table,” says Scott Crutchfield, chief sales and marketing officer. “In addition to our award-winning design and build quality, the fact that we continually push the envelope is what keeps bringing people back to the MasterCraft brand. And that is why working exclusively with Ilmor is so exciting – we have once again given the discerning buyer a clear choice.”
