Yanmar 6CX-GTE2: 500 HorsePower Punch

Rated at 500 horsepower, the 6CX-GTE2 engine is Yanmar's latest high-performance, lightweight diesel offering.

Yanmar keeps topping itself. A few months back, the company introduced a lightweight, compact diesel motor, the 465-horsepower 6CX-GTE. That motor built on the company's successful 420-horsepower 6CX-ETE. Later this month at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, the company will debut the 500-horsepower 6CX-GTE2.

Here's the kicker: The 500-horsepower motor is neither heavier nor larger than its less-powerful siblings. Like those engines, the powerplant weighs 1,815 pounds and is 59.2 inches long, 34.2 inches wide and 36.1 inches high.

According Yanmar's product literature, the horsepower gains were reaped through changes in head design, fuel injection, exhaust valves and "other internal components." It is designed for use in boats less than 60 feet long.

The 6CX-GTE2 develops its peak horsepower at a mere 2,900 rpm. Steady on the power curve, it develops 440 horsepower at 2,800 rpm.