Polaris is a company which is perhaps best known for its snowmobiles, ATVs and other off-road methods of transportation. The company’s latest creation, the Slingshot, is a step in the other direction. It’s referred to as a 3-wheel motorcycle and unlike the rest of Polaris’ products, is at home when carving corners on twisty, paved roads.
The Slingshot has a reverse tricycle layout, with two wheels up front and one in the rear. A high strength steel spaceframe with sharp, angular styling houses two seats for the passengers, a steering wheel, a manual gear selector and that’s about it. The base Slingshot starts at $19,999, but the upgrade Slingshot SL, which starts at $23,999, adds 18-inch forged wheels in the front with a 20-inch wheel in the rear along with a small windscreen, a 4.3-inch color touchscreen, a backup camera, Bluetooth connectivity and a 6-speaker audio system.
So why might GM Authority be interested in Polaris’ answer to the Ariel Atom, BAC Mono and Morgan Three-Wheeler? Well, the company turned to the 2.4-liter General Motors Ecotec four cylinder in their search a powerplant for the Slingshot. The engine is producing 173 horsepower in the Slingshot, sending its power to the lightweight aluminum rear swingarm through a 5-speed manual transmission. Polaris says the engine has no problem moving the Slingshot’s light 1,700 lb mass around and provides “heart pounding acceleration.”
We have no doubts the Ecotec four-cylinder provides ample acceleration to the Slingshot, but we can’t help but think how much faster it would be if they had stuffed GM’s 272 horsepower 2.0-liter LTG four cylinder from the Cadillac ATS under its hood. Maybe it was a little too much for that single rear wheel to handle, or maybe Polaris is saving it for a high performance variant of the Slingshot. We can dream, right?
If the Ecotec-powered Slingshot is something you might be interested in, check out Motorcyle.com’s first look at the vehicle below and keep an eye out for it when it arrives at American and Canadian Polaris dealers this fall.
Comments
I like the slingshot, but it can not compare in prize and fuel economy with the new Elio, which i have already made deposit on, the Elio gets 84 MPG and prize for the 3 wheel coupe is $ 6800 .
That isn’t the intent of Slingshot…it is supposed to be about the riding experience. Good luck keeping up on the track with an Elio…
The Elio is vaporware, not an actual product. Your non-refundable deposit is more likely to get you a small settlement in a class-action lawsuit than it is a chance to buy a functioning vehicle.
A fool and their money …..
another HIDEOUS backwards TRIKE like can am.. they are stupid.
Oh, you don’t want more power in this thing. All that power routed to the single wheel would only serve to send the driver into a perception of douchbaggery not seen since Kanye got his Lambo stuck in his driveway’s gate. As the gate was too narrow, so is the tire.
Wow! I like it.
You made some decent points there. I looked on the internet for the subject and found most persons will consent with your blog.