The type of tires Polaris is showing off here and announcing it’s going to offer on one of its models as of December is not new, and if my memory doesn’t deceive me, even Audi tried out NPTs (non-pneumatic tires) a few years back – they looked very similar to these, but didn’t catch on due to their less than excellent shock absorption properties and higher rolling resistance than regular rubber, including run-flats.
However, in the case of this new Polaris Sportsman WV850 H.O. ATV/quad, those concerns are not nearly as relevant, but the advantages of much more durable tires that can be shot at yet keep on going is.
So far, such tires have only been used for military applications, where their unique blend of qualities was needed, but there’s definitely a commercial niche somewhere in there too…
Still, this won’t be a true mass-production effort, as the WV850 in this spec will only be sold in limited numbers, starting from $14,999 (€11,100).
By Andrei Nedelea
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