Holiday Engine Ornament

1957 Mercury Mark 75 Ornament

The 1957 60hp Mark 75 engine was the first of its kind in outboards. It was initially conceptualized by Charlie Strang who cut apart and reassembled two four-cylinder engines into a single six-cylinder block coupled with a camshaft composed of three two-cylinder shafts. Most of this was created without the express knowledge of Mr. Kiekhaefer who, when it was presented to him, was impressed. His simple response, “It speaks with authority; let’s build it”.

To counter criticism aimed at the longevity of his products, Kiekhaefer conceived a non-stop, "around the world" endurance run using two boats powered by Mercury Mark 75 outboards. After 34 days, 11 hours, 47 minutes and 5.4 seconds, the lead boat completed its 4,526th lap of Lake X for a total distance of 25,003 miles. It was followed only minutes later by the second boat, enshrining "Operation Atlas" as the most exotic of all endurance events in marine history.