Looking back fondly on the Polaris RZR’s debut in 2007—back when the phrases “side-by-side” and “UTV” conjured up images of very robust golf carts—Dave Elia, Product Director for Recreational Brands at Polaris, recently told a group of media, “Who knew that a 52-horsepower, 50-inch, at that time $10,000 machine would completely change the industry?” Well, Polaris just did it again with the launch of the RZR Pro R Boost, which reclaims the title of the world’s most powerful UTV.
With 225 horsepower from its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, the previous RZR Pro R reigned as the UTV niche’s output king for the first part of this decade, until the Can-Am Maverick R upped it to 240 hp and the Kawasaki Teryx H2 took pushed the record to 250 hp. The Can-Am benefits from a turbocharger and the Kawasaki a supercharger, so you might be able to guess what Polaris did to reclaim the lead:
“We took the two-liter motor that we have in Pro R and we turbocharged it in a legit way,” Elia said. By “legit,” he means big, as the turbo unit comes from performance turbo maker Garrett and clocks in at 60 millimeters—a size typically only installed on vehicle engines with internals that have been modified for special hi-po use cases, like drift cars. The result is a maximum 275 horsepower at 7,000 RPM, which Elia points out is an earlier peak than available in other Polaris models.
Getting to the top end quickly will be a blast, but arguably more important in the rugged, highly graded world of UTVs is torque, which the turbo also benefits. A peak 223 pound-feet of torque arrives at 6,000 RPM, but, as Elia said, “You get 97% of that torque… 215 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 RPM.” “Coming out of corners, under acceleration, going up hills, you have that available torque starting at low RPM.”
Polaris also redesigned several mechanical systems to support the added power, including a new dual-radiator cooling system intended to keep the engine, turbo, and transmission cool during extended use in temperatures up to 115 degrees.
The RZR Pro R Boost is naturally getting much of the attention. But in the fully enclosed XPEDITION, Polaris has introduced the industry’s first pneumatic CVT (continuously variable transmission), called NUMATIX. A CVT eliminates gears altogether, instead running a drive belt between two cone-shaped pulleys that can widen or narrow. As the pulleys change shape, the belt rides higher or lower on them, smoothly changing the “gear ratio” without ever actually shifting.
“The trade-off with a mechanical CVT is that you have to tune it, and we have to tune it for one setting,” Elia said. “Our engineers are always balancing performance and comfort. We can always lean towards performance, but that’s gonna come with higher revs and more noise. Or you can go comfort, but then the vehicle can feel doggy.”
The pneumatic CVT system adds an air-pressure layer that pulls RPM down by biasing the clutch while keeping ground speed constant. “As you accelerate, the engine RPMs cruise up, and then once you get to a cruising speed at 40 miles an hour, basically stays in that high RPM,” Elia explained. “You can still have that same acceleration, you can have that same response, but once you get up to the cruising speed, you actually don’t need full peak power.”
Polaris said the XPEDITION’s new transmission system adjusts up to 200 times per second, using real-time control that responds to rider inputs and terrain conditions. The company said the technology is designed to produce a smoother, quieter ride without reducing responsiveness. The quieter part is the most pertinent to the XPEDITION, which is one of the cushiest UTVs on the market. “At 30 mph, you have a 45% reduction in RPM,” Elia said, which equates to up to a 40% reduction in perceived noise.
Additionally, the XPEDITION is a second quicker to 50 mph than the previous model, and NUMATIX brings an added benefit: an integrated onboard air system that supplies compressed air through an auxiliary port for tasks like tire inflation.
Arriving in dealers this month, the Polaris XPEDITION is priced from $40,499. The RZR Pro R Boost starts at $49,999 and hits dealers in November.