Arctic Cat Goes Full Circle As Racing Roots Return! While not necessarily long, it has been a strange trip for the Arctic Cat faithful, and the Thief River Falls, Minnesota manufacturer. As consumer sales continued to thin industry wide, enthusiasts who remained saw a constant bombardment of new iron from the big four, all in an effort to capture the attention and inevitably sales to those dedicated snowmobilers who looked to the sky and chanted, “Just wait ‘till next year.”

For Arctic Cat, the demands for latest and greatest resulted in a mixed bag. The Firecat captured the attention of enthusiasts both on the showroom floor, and more frequently, at the end of a lake, as this speed demon delivered on the almighty promise of excess. But more recently the Twin Spar offering from Arctic has proven to be far less effective on both fronts, leaving Cat faithful scratching and wondering where their feline leader was prowling.

Ever since the legendary Black Panther dawned nearly 40 years ago, Cat has become synonymous with raw performance, focusing on race proven function rather than superfluous form. Okay, admittedly there were a few bumps in the trail along the way such as the hydrostatically driven VIP, or Yamaha Phazer influenced Prowler to name a few. But models such as the El Tigre’ EXT, King Cat, ZR, Thundercat and most recently the aforementioned Firecat delivered the goods and defined the brand.

Certainly the new Twin Spar offering was a dramatic step forward in terms of comfort, refinement, fit and finish, and accoutrements. Yet it seemingly lacked what Arctic Cat customers could always be assured their beloved maker would deliver; In-your-face performance and razor sharp handling.

In 2010, that direction is changing, as Cat refines the Twin Spar by eliminating some of the form, and focusing more on the function. Power is a priority, made evident with a new 800 twin 2-stroke with a potential class-leading, and claimed legitimate, 150-ponies. Extras are being stripped to reduce weight, complexity and costs. Handling is sharpened with a wider and more aggressive keel composite ski. And perhaps most importantly, Cat is looking to the racetrack once again to drive the development and direction of their consumer models.

Ripping a page from their ZR how-to manual, Cat is set to ship a racetrack proven chassis in consumer trim in the form of a fuel-injected Sno Pro 500. While it may not be the 600 or even 800 powered model some were expecting, the new Sno Pro 500 serves up razor sharp handling, and big bump compliance and confidence that performance riders crave. Plus, the 500 fuelie is light, fuel efficient, affordable and most importantly, downright fun.

Still, with many Twin Spar and quickly aging traditional sit-down Crossfire chassis models in the line, 2010 might not be the dramatic shift that some had hoped for from the feline brand. But the direction has clearly changed, with a focus on performance, power, and the return of racing leading the development curve. Here’s a look at what you’ll find at your Cat dealer this fall.