Keith Eickert & Lighting Performance Group's V-16

Keith Eickert is one of the best-known names in the marine aftermarket performance industry. His advanced bolt-on accessory engine parts have been helping boats go faster since 1986, and he recently relaunched his original "Lightning Performance" line as part of the Don Onken group of companies. As a result, a lot of people in the industry are taking note of the Easton, Illinois-based Onken Group as they introduce a new range of marine performance products for the 2009 season.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lightning Performance Group

Even in the current economic climate, there still remains a market demand for bigger and faster high-performance boats. While the tools and technology required to build high horsepower engines is available to many, a number of real challenges remain for dedicated marine engine builders: Maintaining bulletproof reliability, managing the overall cost of operation and being able to use commonly-available pump gas. To that end, the group has just introduced an incredible V-16 engine.

The concept of coupling 2 V-8 engines together to run as one addresses and solves several problems. Keith and Don have created what Keith describes as "an almost bulletproof 1500 hp motor that delivers speed and durability without the need for superchargers and all that extra stuff." The brand new V16 engine package is all aluminum, consisting of two big block 540 cubic inch engines linked end to end, putting out a reliable 750 hp each, and totaling 1600 ft.-lbs of torque. What else is significant is the fact that two of these 540 blocks weigh less than one of the big supercharged engines.

Clearly, the extra length of the engine means it won't fit in a lot of boats, and at this point, we're not sure what drives would be the best match. Nevertheless, this new engine is truly something extraordinary -- and appears to be just the beginning for Lightning Performance, which is planning a complete line of state-of-the-art marine performance engines and accessories.