Volvo technology revolutionizes boat life

Volvo Penta has launched its new propulsion system for boats, the Volvo Penta IPS (Inboard Performance System). The new system is claimed to dramatically improve speed while also being quieter, cleaner and extremely maneuverable.

The new system, which resembles azimuthing propulsors, features propellers that are turned in the direction in which the boat is traveling. Volvo Penta has placed pulling and counter-rotating propellers through the bottom of the hull, which provides the boat with significantly improved performance, compared with traditional shaft installations.

According to Volvo Penta?s own calculations, the higher efficiency of the new system provides the following improvements compared with boats that are equipped with shaft installations:

* 20% faster

* 15% greater acceleration

* 50% lower noise and vibration levels

* 75% faster to install

* Dramatically easier handling

“During the development work and the continuous tests that we performed, the system has exceeded our expectations time and time again. Boat performance is boosted to a new level, compared with before,” says Volvo Penta President Göran Gummeson. The world?s leading boat builders have been invited to follow the development of the Volvo Penta IPS at close hand, and they have also been given opportunities to test prototypes of the new system in boats.

The reactions have been consistently positive and, consequently, most of the world?s best-known boat brands are planning to launch boats featuring the Volvo Penta IPS, the first of which will be on view in conjunction with this winter?s international boat shows in London, Düsseldorf and Miami.

Volvo Penta IPS will revolutionize boat handling in much the same way as another important Volvo Penta invention, the Aquamatic sterndrive, which was introduced toward the end of the 1950s. Volvo Penta IPS will now be launched in two versions: IPS 400 and IPS 500, both of which are based on Volvo Penta?s proprietary developed diesel engines D6-310 and D6-370. The system in these output classes is appropriate for boats ranging from 35-50 feet in size.