Textron President Scott Donnelly spoke at the first combined dealer meeting since his company acquired Arctic Cat just over a year ago and laid out the best possible message a consumer could hear. “Our company is all about product,” he said. “New products matter. We’ve been in the vehicle business. Arctic Cat is a great company, but, frankly, is a company that has not made enough investment in new products.”
Donnelly later explained the absolute scale of what he is used to in terms of investment. “Textron spends a little over a half a billion dollars a year in new product investments,” he said. That’s a darn hefty number to be socking away into R&D. While that doesn’t all get plugged into snowmobiles, he did tell the dealers in attendance that whether it’s the platform or the engines that power them, “you’ll see more investment in new products to be wildly successful.”
So, let’s take a peek at 7 of the most interesting things we know about the 2019 Arctic Cat lineup so far…
The mountain segment has been specifically focused on function and weight since day one. The Ascender platform, launched last season, handled the function. Narrower body work and tighter packaging allowed the sled to roll up on its side more easily, without hanging up on the snow and paneling out on sidehills.
Arctic Cat upped its deep snow handling game in 2019 with the all-new Alpha One single-rail rear suspension. The design, the only one of its kind in modern snowmobiling, uses a single, triangular rail with two hyfaxes right down the center line of the sled. The result is one-of-a-kind handling and maneuverability. In deep powder and while sidehilling.
The Alpha One allows the new Powerclaw track to flex and bite the snow in a wide variety of terrain. The track has a whole new physical layout, with its driver windows located down the center. Unique 3.5-inch pitch gives the track the largest single bite of snow on the market, as well.
Overall, the Alpha One single-rail skid and the new track is said to reduce the sled’s weight by 10 or 11 pounds. But that doesn’t account for the massive amounts of snow that isn’t trapped in the rear suspension on traditionally designed sleds. As a play for improved real world running weights, the Alpha One is a huge winner!
The iACT suspension system adjusts the front shocks as well as the rear rear shock for a great ride no matter the condition.
A new push button start is located at the top, and the high beam switch is at the bottom of the pod. The iACT adjustment is also managed on the left side.
Additionally, there’s a new Hayes brake system on the left hand. The new design has a smaller lever, with a shorter throw. It’s also very easy pulling when the time comes to settle down coming into a corner. The reservoir also had a remodeling. It is now tucked down and better protected in the event of a rollover.
Over on the fun side of the handlebar, you’ll find a new, slimmer throttle flipper that is more comfortable than the previous one. You’ll also see an independent engine shutoff switch that looks like the rest of the industry. No more toggle switch, the new one is a simple push/pull… hooray! Also, Cat re-thought the tether switch on the ’19 performance sleds. Its magnetic design is easier to manage than the old push-on rubber cap.