Honda’s First Production V8 Is This 350-HP Boat Motor With VTEC

Soon, you won't have to be running a race team to get a sweet Honda V8 engine. The 5.0-liter, four-stroke SOHC VTEC BF350 was announced today as the company's first commercially available V8 and the new top of Honda's outboard marine lineup. You might not be able to put it in a car, but it's still pretty darn cool.

Honda has been in the marine engine business since the '60s and now has a broad range of outboards from tiny ones for dingies to robust outboards for larger toys.

The new BF350 is designed for boats of around 25 feet in length, like sport fishing boats, bigger pontoon party boats, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic boats. And while 350 horsepower is nothing to shrug off, Honda's objective with this motor is more about hitting a nice balance between power, reliability, and ride quality rather than outright speed.