All Smiles, All the Time
Sept 26, 2023
Sea-Doo cranks up the fun factor with all-new Spark PWCs and the most powerful production personal watercraft ever made.
By Craig Ritchie
BRP released its second quarter financial results in early September celebrating the highest sales in its history, driven in large part by surging demand for Sea-Doo PWCs and pontoon boats. But even as that news hit the airwaves, the Quebec company was already charging headlong into the future, previewing its 2024 line-up to a select group of boating writers at an exclusive media event in rural Arkansas, far from the prying eyes of competitors.
That’s where the company not only pulled the covers off several brilliant new models for the coming season, but had them all in the water for first-hand testing. We can sum it all up in three simple words.
My, oh my.
An All-New Sea-Doo Spark
It is hard to believe that Sea-Doo’s class-leading Spark personal watercraft has now been on the market for 10 whole years. Yet true enough, the affordable, lightweight, and super fun Spark completely redefined the personal watercraft market when it exploded onto the scene way back in 2014. It’s been a perennial best-seller ever since, and that’s sure to continue as Sea-Doo brings an all-new Spark to dealers for 2024.
Although the original boat never came to look dated, Sea-Doo gave the 2024 Spark a bit of a cosmetic redesign that remains faithful to the original design while injecting some all-new freshness. The most obvious changes are smoother lines to facilitate reboarding from the side or stern, giving the new Spark a less boxy look than the original. New graphics are a given, as is the addition of Sea-Doo’s Intelligent Brake and Reverse (iBR) system which now comes as a standard feature on all Spark models for greater control and manoeuvrability.
The 2024 Spark also gets a variety of seat options to accommodate up to three riders, along with more LinQ accessory mounting locations, including multiple LinQ Lite action camera mounts for capturing those good times for posting online. Textured footwell patterns provide better grip while dressing up the deck appearance, and a new Freestyle single-rider seat allows more comfort when riding from a standing position or when doing tricks on the water.
Up top, an all-new 4.5-inch display provides a clear view of all Spark vitals like fuel levels, speed and more. There’s also an all-new water-tight phone compartment that’s not only much easier to access than that on the original Spark, but larger in size to accommodate today’s bigger mobile devices.
There’s also a new-for-2024 Spark Trixx model, which is no surprise considering Sea-Doo notes that the Trixx version represents about 70% of all Spark PWC sales. Subtle performance enhancements improve overall comfort and balance to allow even more fun on the water.
Power To Burn
At the opposite end of the Sea-Doo PWC line-up are two all-new high-performance models. Top dog is the 325 hp Sea-Doo RXP-X/RXT-X, which is driven by the all-new Rotax 1630 ACE engine – a supercharged monster that churns out a staggering 325 horsepower. And no, that’s not a typo.
Rightly described as the world’s highest horsepower and fastest accelerating PWC engine, the big Rotax powers the RXP-X/RXT-X models to over 60 mph in an absolutely eye watering 3.4 seconds.
Featuring what Sea-Doo describes as the lowest cost-per-horsepower in the world, the 300 horsepower Sea-Doo GTR-X doesn’t take a whole lot longer to hit that magic 60 mph mark from a standing stop – we’re talking four seconds flat here – thanks to its proven sport hull design and a boatload of performance features including launch control and a polished stainless steel impeller. The result is a sled that can’t help but impress even the most experienced performance buffs.
Visit: https://sea-doo.brp.com/ca/en/
Watch for the latest info on the new Sea-Doo Switch models in Boating Industry Canada News Week Digest October 3, 2023.
