Honda Marine’s McLaren-tuned outboard is no longer restricted to new boat builds. Honda Marine UK has kept a high profile in British racing this year, but the McLaren Performance M300, its most distinctive outboard, has had a quieter path to market on the other side of the Atlantic.
Current Honda Marine promotional material and dealer listings confirm the 300hp engine is now sold as a standalone repower unit. That is a change from its original 2025 launch, when Honda and McLaren Engineering restricted the M300 to selected boatbuilders fitting it to new boats.
What the M300 Actually Is
The M300 is not a new engine. It is Honda’s existing BF250, a 3.6-litre V6, tuned by McLaren Engineering, a division of Canada’s Linamar Corporation. The changes are a new high-lift camshaft, a revised engine control unit, and higher-flow fuel injectors, which lift output from 250hp to 300hp.
Linamar’s chief technology officer, Mark Stoddart, addressed the engine’s durability at its Miami launch.
“What we’re doing by taking an existing engine at 225 horsepower and bumping it up to 300 is by no means stressing it beyond what its capability is. That’s why Honda is still offering the five-year warranty on it.”
On the Water
Boating Magazine tested the M300 on an FCJ 263 HS in Florida’s Biscayne Bay. The 622lb engine took the boat from 0mph to plane in 4 seconds and to 30mph in 8 seconds, with a top speed of 45.6mph at 6,400rpm. A separate test in Galveston Bay, Texas, with a heavier load, recorded a comparable top speed of 45.3mph.
Repower Pricing
Florida dealer Top Notch Marine lists the M300 X at an MSRP of $33,550, with a current promotional price of $27,990. Honda Marine’s own dealer promotions, running through mid-2026, group the M300 alongside other engines eligible for repower discounts, which is itself confirmation that the OEM-only restriction has lifted.
Still Absent From the UK
The M300 remains unavailable in the UK and continental Europe. Honda Marine has not published a European rollout date, and no UK dealer or boatbuilder currently lists the engine. For now, it sits alongside the BF350 as another high-power Honda option built and sold exclusively for the North American market.
Honda and McLaren Have Been Here Before
The McLaren name on a Honda product is not a new pairing. The two were engine partners in Formula 1 from 1988 to 1992, winning 44 of 80 races and four consecutive constructors’ titles. Ayrton Senna took three of his four world championships with the team, in 1988, 1990 and 1991, and Alain Prost took the other in 1989.
McLaren and Honda reunited in F1 from 2015 to 2017, with a much rockier result. A highly compact engine packaging concept, dubbed “size zero”, left Honda’s power unit underpowered and unreliable for three seasons. McLaren moved to Renault power for 2018.
Whether the marine partnership fares closer to 1988 or 2015 will depend on demand for the M300 as a repower option in the US market it has just opened up to. Honda’s own five-year warranty, extended across both markets on its standard outboards, suggests no technical barrier stands in the way if the appetite exists.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
