Back in the mid-’80s, Evinrude developed an all-new V8 2-stroke (!) outboard engine that displaced 3.6 liters and was rated at 275 horsepower. Later on, the marine company upgraded the engine to displace 4.0 liters – the 300XP shown here. This beast is no joke. Eight carburetors is one thing, but eight expansion chambers (and the sheer volume of sound they produce under heavy throttle) brings up another complete level of crazy.

This particular piece is destined for use in a Volvo drag car and was built by VM Performance in Västerås, Sweden. While not much information is available on the engine or its internals, some speculation on this end based on other engines of this type says that it’ll make somewhere in the neighborhood of 225-250 horsepower and over 300 foot-pounds of torque – all while sounding like an angry chainsaw times ten.

Outboard boat engines like this typically feed on a steady diet of cool water sucked in by the total loss system, so one has to wonder whether the engine will fare well on the dragstrip.

The short race length should negate the issues, but will the VM Performance team need to construct some sort of expanded-capacity ice-water cooling system to achieve maximum performance?

As two-stroke engines tend to be happiest (and make the most power) down at 55 degrees, the cooling system and its capabilities have to become a huge point of strategic concern with this engine.

It’s a neat project with a number of challenges, but isn’t that the whole point of hot-rodding – to do things differently from the guy in the next lane? Speaking of the next lane, who wouldn’t be intimidated by the sound of this beast?