never heard of an outboard with a forward facing prop. drives like this have been around and in use on the industrial marine side for years, they're called azimuth drives, Z drives, azipods, etc. they provide amazing maneuverability, mostly you see them on tugboats and OSV's (off shore supply vessels) which require exact maneuverability. they've also become common place on cruise ships, only recently they've become available to the recreational boating market.