Mercury Marine has launched its Bravo Four S forward-facing stern drive aimed squarely at water sports enthusiasts. The drives will be matched to MerCruiser V6 and V8 gas engines ranging from 250 to 430 hp.

In addition, the Fond du Lac, Wis.-based manufacturer has unveiled an updated version of its proprietary Smart Tow system that combines ballast control, wake tabs and all propulsion settings into a single user interface.

“The popularity of water tow sports — and, particularly, wakesurfing and wakeboarding — has surged,” said Mercury product development and engineering vice president Tim Reid,  “We 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.”

Mercury said that the forward-facing drives — when matched to several new props made specifically for the Bravo Four S — offer enhanced maneuverability, especially at slow speeds, which should help close-quarters piloting.

For details on gear ratios, prop sizes and compatible engines, click here.

SmartCraft Digital Throttle & Shift will come standard as part of the Bravo Four S drive package.

“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,” Reid said. “This is the forward‑facing drive for the new generation of tow sports enthusiasts.”