[Mee-n-Mac]

It's an interesting concept though I'm not sure what it accomplishes beyond what a normal stern drive (I/O) would do. It appears to be aimed at the big boat market, to replace inboards with this new IPS, giving them the advantages of a stern drive. I'm guessing that packaging / space concerns prevent the usage of a normal I/O in these boats ? One thing I noted was the lack of an anti-cavitation plate and then upon further thinking (duh) I realized that one wasn't needed because the bottom of the boat is serving that purpose. I wonder then if we'll see a "puller prop" (you have to see the pic @ the above link) configuration on future "normal" stern drives given that Volvo claims better efficiency due to undisturbed water flowing to the props ?

On another note my first thought was that this was the "stern drive in a box" concept that I had previously seen. The "STiB" packaged an engine and outdrive in a separate floating box that attached to the transom in lieu of a OB. I thought this (STiB) was a solution w/o a problem.