The Volvo Penta IPS system is now offered by more than 60 builders worldwide and is installed on approximatley 450 different models. There will continue to be naysayers who gripe that having a forward facing prop will expose the propellers in case of a grounding or water debris. However, this magazine has conducted several tests (See “The Future of Power,” April, 2007) and has concluded that the benefits far outweigh this one issue. In fact, we’ll be following up with a story of a boat with IPS hitting a log in New York Harbor. Yes, the boat had to limp home on one engine, but chances are that log would have damaged a conventional boat as well. However, the best part is that the next day Volvo service changed the entire unit within two hours! No struts to remove, or shafts to align.

With this initial success, we were not surprised to attend a press conference in June for the introduction of two larger IPS engines, the IPS750 and the IPS850. The engine in the IPS750 is the Volvo Penta 9-litre D9 diesel, which has been available for inboard shaft installation for three years and has an output of 575 hp. The IPS850 is powered by the new 11-litre D11 at 670 hp. These will be coupled with new, larger IPS drive units.

Both engines share common technology, such as a twin-entry turbo system which produces impressive toque from low revs. Due to the larger engines, Volvo needed to produce new drive units to handle the increased demand. We had a chance to test an Atlantis 55 with the IPS850s and an Azimut 50 with IPS750s, the acceleration and economy were impressive.
Look for a complete evaluation on the Atlantis 55 and the engine package in a future issue of Boat Digest.  
For more information and to order a DVD online about the complete IPS system, visit www.volvopenta.com/ips/us.