MerCruiser Bravo Four S Forward Facing Drive

Mercury Marine® today unveiled its Bravo Four S™ forward-facing drive with Smart Tow® controls, a new drive system for MerCruiser® engines that elevates the art of crafting perfect wakes for wakesurfing, wakeboarding and other tow sports.


Digital controls that coordinate ballast, surf tabs and propulsion settings under a single and intuitive user interface make it easier than ever before.

Water tow sports like wakesurfing and wakeboarding — has gained global popularity. Mercury engineers carefully studied all the refinements that go into optimizing a boat's wake for each of the various tow sports and devised a system to make those settings easy for the boater.

"Whether boaters are veteran wakesurfers or new to tow sports, the Bravo Four S forward facing drive delivers the power to do it safely and reliably in combination with proven MerCruiser 4.5 liter V6, 6.2 liter V8 and 8.2 liter V8 sterndrive engines ranging from 250hp to 430hp."

Mercury SmartCraft® digital technologies, including an upgraded Smart Tow system, come standard with the Bravo Four S drive. These controls allow customization of the tow sports experience with just a few taps on a Mercury VesselView® touchscreen display. The driver can simply select the desired tow sports activity, and the Smart Tow system will display the appropriate controls to dial in the perfect launch acceleration, towing speed and wake characteristics.

Other advantages of the Bravo Four S drive include:

    Enhanced maneuverability, especially at low speeds, resulting from the forward facing props' extra "grip" on the water;
    The SmartCraft Digital Throttle & Shift system for precise control, which is particularly important when riders are in tow;
    A selection of five new propellers designed specifically to leverage all the advantages of the Bravo Four S drive; and
    Support from the vast network of Mercury authorized dealers who can service the entire system, from drive to display.

We started with our highly visionary legacy designs and added new technologies, digital functionality for the user and seamless integration with the engine and boat controls. This is the forward facing drive for the new generation of tow sports enthusiasts.

The new MerCruiser Bravo Four S forward facing drive will be available in EMEA markets from October 2020.