Cat has done a great job this year offering more sleds at a lower price threshold to entice consumers into its showrooms.
Two examples are the ProCross 5000 (4-stroke twin) LXR and the ProCross 4000 (500cc 2-stroke) LXR. Both these sleds use proven power packages and, with excellent standard equipment lists, are very appealing buys. Their pricing is almost too good to believe.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Cat price menu is the “new” Lynx 2000 series targeted at entry-level buyers and utility users. These sleds are powered by Cat’s long-in-the tooth 570 fan-cooled 2-stroke twin and use the recycled Twin Spar platform AC introduced in the mid-00s.
We’ve heard Arctic Cat would love to offer a low-priced 4-stroke to better compete with Ski-Doo’s ACE engines and it looks like an ideal supply source would be Yamaha. Problem is 4-strokes cost big-dough to manufacture and Cat may already have an EPA clean power source that is cheaper and simpler.
What if AC was working on an entry level fan-cooled C-TEC2 2-stroke? This much cleaner technology would be a great substitute for 4-stroke power at the bottom of the price list and would clean up the company’s CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) rating with the EPA. A 2-stroke like this would be much cheaper to manufacture than an all-new 4-stroke, too.
Certainly, a DSI C-TEC twin would end up being more expensive than the existing 570 but we’re willing to bet it would end up being at least half the retail price of an identical sled powered by an entry-level 4-stroke – and may deliver bonus power, too.
