Did you know?

Phil Dyskow drives a Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicle.

You’d think the Yamaha Marine Group president would have more personal pride invested in a boat than in his car. But that isn’t necessarily so. Yamaha Marine Group built the car’s V-8 engine.

The Yamaha-made engine, which is installed in almost 30 percent of the XC90s sold, is the first V-8 Volvo has ever offered its customers. And while Yamaha doesn’t make V-8s for the marine market, it was chosen for its experience building the Super High Output engine in the Ford Taurus.

Volvo requested that its V-8 be designed from scratch for its purposes rather than as a modified version of the Ford engine, that the larger engine fit into the XC90’s current design and that it produce a car-like ride.

Not only did Yamaha deliver this, it offered a V-8 with a fuel economy almost identical to that of the base model’s V-6.

Lest you think Yamaha is putting all its innovative muscle into the car market, however, Dyskow hinted at future outboards in development. Not only did he confirm that Yamaha is working to break the high horsepower barrier, he suggested the time is coming for the marine industry to consider hybrid technology. Stay tuned.