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Celebrating 100 Years
of Life on the Water
1906
During a romantic picnic on the island of a
Wisconsin lake one hot summer day, Bess Cary
tells her fiancé, Ole Evinrude, that she’d love a
dish of ice cream. While rowing back to shore
for his fiancée’s cold treat, sweat dripping
from his brow, Ole decides that this trip would
be a lot easier if his rowboat had a motor.
100 years ago, the Evinrude® name first became synonymous with America’s passion for
boating. Ever since that landmark day when Ole Evinrude rowed to fetch ice cream for his love,
the Evinrude brand has been pushing the boundaries of what boats and marine engines can do.
Whether engineering and building the first Detachable Row Boat Motor, building engines and
parts for the U.S. Army and Navy, setting speed records or revolutionizing water sports with the
latest line of Evinrude E-TEC® engines, Evinrude is the name that boating enthusiasts turn
to and trust.
November 21, 1906
Ole and Bess are married.
As Evinrude reflects on 100 years of innovation and success, we are setting our sights on
another century of industrywide leadership. The Evinrude brand is stronger than ever. BRP’s
Evinrude E-TEC outboard engine line is the best that boating has ever seen, and what’s to come
will once again reinvent the way boaters enjoy time on the water.
Evinrude. Simply the best outboard ever built.
From the beginning...
1906
1907
1907
Ole and Bess Evinrude’s
only child, Ralph Sydney
Evinrude is born.
2
1909
Ole Evinrude builds the first commercial model
of a “Detachable Row Boat Motor.” After a
successful test run on the Kinnickinnic River,
Ole ordered enough parts to build 25 engines.
A few weeks later, a shop employee takes one
of the engines to Pewaukee Lake for a spin.
When he returns he hands Ole cash for the
motor and orders for 10 more.
1908
1909
1909
Ole and his future
brothers-in-law, the
Cary brothers, take the
first test run in April.
3
1911
In an effort to bypass slow
winter sales, Bess begins
working on an international
business plan. Within days of
a meeting with a large export
firm, the Evinrude Motor
Company receives an
order for 1,000 motors. An
international brand is born.
1911
1914
With Bess in poor health, Ole cashes out,
selling his remaining 50 percent stake in
the Evinrude Motor Company to his partner,
Chris Meyer, for $137,500. Sales slow under
Meyer’s direction, although Evinrude engines
remain the market leader.
1913
1913
Evinrude sells
9,412 motors
in one year.
1914
1920
1922
1920
Bess enjoys better health. She and Ole get
back into the outboard business. Using the
$35,000 they have left in savings, they form
Elto (Evinrude Light Twin Outboard) Outboard
Motor Company. Two years after unveiling
the Elto Ruddertwin, the company is selling
3,500 motors annually.
4
1928
Ralph Evinrude, a college sophomore,
successfully convinces his father to build
more than a fishing motor. Subsequently,
the Super Elto Quad, an 18-horsepower
motor with speeds of more than 35 mph,
is unveiled at the New York boat show.
Thanks to the Super Elto Quad, Elto
overtakes Johnson Motor Company as
the speed king of outboard motors.
1928
1930
Evinrude features the first electric start
outboard motors.
1931
OMC overtakes rival Johnson Motor
Company as the world’s largest
producer of outboard motors.
1929
1930
1931
1929
Ole designs the Fold Light 4-horsepower folding motor,
with three models introduced in 1930.
5
1932
Rubber mounts are introduced to cushion
the motor against excessive vibration.
February 23, 1929
Briggs & Stratton purchase the Evinrude brand and
reinvigorate the company by infusing $400,000 for
improvements. After negotiations with Ole Evinrude,
Stephen Briggs buys the Evinrude brand from Briggs
& Stratton and creates Outboard Motors Corporation
(OMC) by joining Elto, Evinrude and the race engine
manufacturer, Lockwood Motors. Ole Evinrude is
named OMC’s president.
1933
Ole’s wife and longtime
business partner, Bess, passes
away due to illness.
1932
1933
1934
1934
Ole lays the foundation for sleek, quieter
outboards with two “hooded” models to
provide full protection to engine parts
and reduce noise.
July 12, 1934
Unable to recover emotionally from the
death of Bess, Ole Evinrude dies 14 months
later at age 57. Twenty-seven-year-old
Ralph Evinrude takes the reins as the
new president of OMC.
1935
1935
The Evinrude 1.5-horsepower, single-cylinder
Sportsman engine rolls off the line; it includes
the first reed valves in the industry and pushes
sales to 17,432 motors, nearly twice as many
as in 1934.
6
1936
The Elto name is dropped from advertisements. Over
the next four years, the Elto brand is marketed as an
economy line to dealers only and is eventually phased
out. Evinrude becomes the core brand name.
1936
FPO
1939 –1945
1946
As postwar material
shortages ease and
soldiers return home,
Evinrude enjoys
record sales. By 1947,
262,000 engines
are being produced,
equaling the combined
production of the 14
other outboard makers
in the United States.
1946
1939 –1945
During the war years, subcontracting is done with the
U.S. government for defense contracts. The war-era work
helped forge new ground in precision die-casting for the
company. These orders also ensure that the Evinrude
brand will be in a position to quickly ramp up outboard
motor production at the war’s end.
7
1958
To meet consumer demand, Evinrude Starflite, a
V-type four-cylinder engine, was developed. The
Evinrude brand subsequently sells 153,105 motors,
with an average of 14.7-horsepower per motor,
a more than 11-horsepower jump from engines
produced 15 years earlier.
1956
1956
Construction begins on a $3 million,
213,000 square-foot plant in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Dubbed the most modern and
efficient of its kind, the new plant produces
800 Evinrude motors during a two-day shift.
1958
1959
1959
An Evinrude outboard motor appeared
on the NBC Today Show with the chimp
mascot, J. Fred Muggs.
8
1967
The Evinrude X-115 debuts. It is the largest rated
horsepower engine ever produced. Its streamlined
design features only 60 percent of the frontal area
of typical motors in its horsepower range.
1960
The automatic choke is introduced on large Evinrude
engines. The choke has a vacuum control that holds it in
the open position while the engine is running, but allows
the choke to close each time the engine is stopped. This
allows instant starting whether the engine is hot or cold.
While the continued need for speed brings on the
production of the big V-8s, by the close of the 1960s
the need for fuel efficiency, noise reduction and fewer
emissions takes the lead in the design of Evinrude
motors. The company continues to innovate.
Hu Entrops sets a new world record for unlimited class
outboards by hydroplaning 114.65 mph with the Evinrude
Starflite II model engine on the Evinrude Starflite III boat.
In September, the Evinrude Starflite II model engine breaks
its own record by hitting a speed of 122.97 mph.
1960
1962
1962
Evinrude pioneered an industry first with its
introduction of push-button shifting on the 1962
Starflite 75 and Lark engines. The forward, reverse
and neutral buttons made gear shifting smoother
and easier, representing a significant improvement
in outboard ease-of-use.
9
1976
The Evinrude brand is the first to
develop a 200-horsepower V-6
outboard to power larger 20- and
24-foot boats. The motor weighs
only half as much per horsepower
and delivers almost twice as much
thrust per cubic inch as the first
V-4 version of the motor introduced
18 years earlier.
1964
1967
1973
1976
1973
The Evinrude brand once again breaks new ground by unveiling
the world’s first rotary-combustion, four-rotor design outboard
and a V-6 cylinder outboard as experimental racing engines.
1978
1978
The Evinrude brand produces the largest outboard
ever made, a 235-horsepower, 90-degree V-6, to
meet the demands of the big water boater.
The James Bond film Live and Let Die features an Evinrude
135-horsepower Starflite-powered runabout. The Evinrudepowered Glastron boat sets a Guinness World Record when
Agent 007 jumps 100 feet over Sheriff J. W. Pepper’s police
vehicle during an exciting boat chase sequence in.
10
1980
In reaction to fuel shortages, a line of economical commercial engines
debuts called Evinrude Worktwins. The 25-, 40- and 55-horsepower
units are sold in foreign countries and are tough, hardworking machines
that can be sold at a lower price point for cost-conscious consumers.
1981
Ole Evinrude and his engineering prowess are honored by having
an Evinrude motor distinguished as a National Historic Mechanical
Engineering Landmark.
1980
1981
1982
The Economixer is introduced in Evinrude
outboards. This innovation represents the
first use of microcomputer technology
in an outboard to vary the amount of oil
being fed to the engine.
11
1982
1983
After nearly 50 years at the
helm, Ralph Evinrude steps
down as chairman of the OMC
Board of Directors. Charles
Strang is elected chairman
while retaining his position
as CEO.
1991
The exclusive lost foam
process is created
enabling the design of
a powerhead that is
smaller, lighter, stronger
and quieter than other
V-6 engines of the same
horsepower. As a result,
the Evinrude Spitfire
hits the water.
FPO
1983 –1984
1984
The Evinrude loop-charged V-4s,
the Cobra stern drives and the
world’s first 300-horsepower V-8
outboard engines are introduced.
1986 –1987
May 21, 1986
Ralph Evinrude dies in
Stuart, Florida, following
an extended illness. But
his visionary leadership
remains evident even after
his death, as OMC breaks
the billion-dollar mark and
sets a new earnings record
with $1.2 billion in sales.
1991
1993
FPO
1996
1993
Evinrude OceanPro outboard engines are introduced, delivering superior fuel economy, bulletproof durability and saltwater corrosion resistance
to offshore fishermen and recreational boaters.
FPO
1996
Evinrude Ficht direct fuel
injection technology is
introduced. This innovation
marks the launch of direct
injection technology to outboard engines, years ahead
of the automotive industry.
2000
December 21, 2000
Strained to comply with increased
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
requirements for new engines, as well
as contending with decreased sales,
OMC announces to employees that it has
ceased operations. The company files
for bankruptcy.
12
2001
Seeing an amazing opportunity to acquire a great
global brand, Bombardier moves quickly and decisively
to acquire the Evinrude assets. Evinrude is reborn into
an internationally recognized company, continuing the
legacy of quality and innovation.
September 27, 2001
The first Bombardier-built Evinrude outboard engines
roll off the assembly line.
2001
February 12, 2003
Bombardier launches its Evinrude E-TEC technology at the Miami International Boat Show. Models introduced include
the in-line two-cylinder 40-, 50-, and 60-horsepower and in-line three-cylinder 75- and 90-horsepower motors.
August 27, 2003
Bombardier Inc. spins off its recreational products division to create a stand-alone company – Bombardier Recreational
Products. The company, later known as BRP, becomes a world leader in innovative, high quality powersports products
with leading brands.
May 11, 2004
The Evinrude E-TEC big block V-6 is unveiled to media at the Ralph Evinrude
Test Center in Stuart, Florida. The motor comes in 200 H.O., 225 H.O., 225and 250-horsepower.
2003
2004
2005
February 13, 2006
Production begins on the midrange V-4 and V-6 Evinrude E-TEC outboard engines.
September 29, 2006
Evinrude E-TEC outboards that are 90-horsepower and below
are the first two-stroke engines to receive registration by the
Bodensee-Schiffahrts-Ordnung Commission, also known as
BSO (Lake Constance Nautical Regulations), for use on
Lake Constance, the pristine waters bordered by Germany,
Switzerland and Austria.
2006
2007
2008
BRP’s commitment to building world-class quality
products, and the company’s desire to become
a worldwide leader in the marine industry only
reinforce the time-honored traditions that began
100 years ago. Innovation and passion are at the
heart of BRP’s commitment, its products and its
brands. Whether Sea-Doo® watercraft and sport
boats, Ski-Doo® and Lynx® snowmobiles, Rotax™
karts and engines, Can-Am™ ATVs and roadsters
or Evinrude outboard engines, these values come
alive through technology and design, inspired
by a single and common compelling mission:
to deliver to consumers the most extraordinary
recreational experience.
The future for the Evinrude outboard motor
remains bright and exciting, with the promise
of even more years of greatness.
13
February 17, 2005
The Evinrude E-TEC 115-horsepower debuts at the 2005 Miami International
Boat Show. It is the first Evinrude E-TEC engine on a four-cylinder platform.
February 14, 2008
BRP launches the 300-horsepower Evinrude E-TEC outboard
engine at the Miami International Boat Show.
April 7, 2005
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awards BRP the prestigious Clean
Air Excellence Award for its Evinrude E-TEC technology. This is the first time an
outboard engine manufacturer receives the award, and it marks the start of the
environmental leadership BRP will show with the Evinrude E-TEC line.
July 1, 2008
BRP honors the 100th anniversary of Evinrude outboard engines
with the introduction of its 2009 model year outboards.
April 27, 2005
The Evinrude E-TEC line expansion continues with the 60-degree
V-6 platform engines in 150 H.O., 150-, 175- and 200-horsepower.
14
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