Kawi Performance is Building a Crazy Supercharged PWC

It’s their most ambitious build to date.

02:31

Enrico Punsalang

By: Enrico Punsalang

Apr 8, 2024 at 1:00pm ET

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Ever since the dawn of time, we humans have always had an insatiable desire for speed and power. From chariot racing to modern-day motorcycle racing, this need for speed and performance seems to be an inescapable reality of human existence.

Our go-fast desires aren’t confined to land, either. Out on the water, people are pushing the bounds of performance when it comes to PWCs, too, bringing us to a project from Kawi Performance, which looks to be one of the craziest we’ve seen yet.

The New York-based company is all about the OG Kawasaki PWC. Offering OEM parts, services, and upgrades, Kawi Performance has quite the track record when it comes to performance-oriented PWC builds.

The company’s latest project—should it become a reality—could very well be its most ambitious one yet.

The hollowed out hull of the Kawasaki STX160 has never even seen the water

Recently, Kawi Performance took delivery of a hollowed-out STX 160 they were able to buy for a song as it didn't come with a motor, and was pulled out by the previous owner for another project. The plan? Transform it into a 310-horsepower beast.

Unsurprisingly, this is no mean feat, and involves quite a bit of work.

For starters, Kawi Performance will need to source a motor for this PWC. Luckily, they have a previous generation 300 motor that they’ll use as a donor. However, bumping it up to 310 horsepower will require quite a bit of modification in the form of a supercharger and forged internals.

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Once complete, it’s hoped that the machine would have a top speed of about 85 miles per hour.

A previous generation 300 motor that will be supercharged and gifted with forged internals

Apart from having quite a potent motor, Kawi Performance wants the monster PWC build to have a factory-fresh look. Kawi Performance says that it's going to find a way to install the brand new 310 display on the PWC, as well as a full wiring harness and all the electronics.

It goes without saying that we’re in for quite an exciting project, as Steve says that they’ll be documenting the entire build and regularly uploading videos to YouTube. So if custom high-performance PWC builds are something that tickles your fancy, consider checking out Kawi Performance’s YouTube page.