Automotive

Polaris' military-grade WV850 HO ATV rolls on non-pneumatic tires

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The WV80 HO is uses Non-Pneumatic Tires
The WV80 HO can carry 850 lb (385.5 kg)
A limited quantity of the WV80 HO go on sale in December
The NPTs were originally designed for the US military
The footrests of the WV80 HO are extra wide
The WV80 HO is uses Non-Pneumatic Tires
The NPT uses a polymer honeycomb instead of air
WV80 HO does not require a spare tire
WV80 HO showing a cargo hard point
The WV80 HO has forward and rear cargo racks
The NPT can run after sustaining what would be severe damage to a conventional tire
The WV80 HO has active descent control
The WV80 HO has a military grade chassis
View gallery - 13 images

There’s nothing that ruins going to work like having your tires shot out with a .50 caliber machine gun round. If that happens to you a lot, and your commute is across open fields and through the woods, you might want to consider the Polaris Sportsman WV850 HO with Terrain Armor. This military-grade All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) abandons traditional inflatable tires for Non-Pneumatic Tires (NPT) that feature a flexible polymer honeycomb.

Airless tires have been around in one form or another for a long time. The US military already uses them, the Apollo astronauts rode on them in their Lunar Rovers, some wheelchairs and special security vehicles have them, and they’re positively ancient when you consider that horse-drawn carts have run on iron tires for centuries.

According to the Minneapolis-based Polaris, its Polaris Defense division began offering its NPT tires to the US military as an optional extra this year. What is new with the WV850 HO is that the technology originally developed so that a Humvee could make it back to base after taking an AK47 burst in the wheels is now moving into the civilian market.

The NPT uses a polymer honeycomb instead of air

“In early, 2013, Polaris announced we’d launch the NPT technology on an off-road vehicle built for consumers,” said David Longren, vice president of Polaris’ Off-Road Division. “We have seen great success with NPTs in military and disaster relief scenarios and are excited to bring this technology to the consumer market for extreme work applications.”

NPTs have a number of advantages over inflatable tires. For one thing, they never go flat, don’t suffer from punctures, cuts, slashes, or outright bursting. This not only means not having to change tires unless one is almost destroyed, but that a spare no longer needs to be carried.

To prove how rugged its NPTs are, Polaris subjected them to fire from .50 caliber, M4, and AK47 rounds, then used them in logging over a distance of 350 mi (563 km), Then they drove a 3-in (7,6 -cm) railway spike into one and drove it 1,000 mi (1609 km). According to the company, the NPT also has a better center-of-gravity and takes corners better than conventional tires.

The WV80 HO has a military grade chassis

But the NPTs aren’t the only military-grade thing about the WV80. The 0.85-liter, 77-bhp, 4-stroke SOHC, twin-cylinder engine with electronic fuel injection has a high-capacity liquid cooling system that feeds into a military-grade automatic, single gear transmission with all-wheel drive and automatic descent control for going downhill. The shift lever lock, underbody skid-plate, push bumper, foot wells, chassis, and full-body steel exoskeleton are all military based.

With a dry weight of 1,114 lb (505.2 kg), the WV80 has dual A-arm front and rear suspension with heavy-duty shocks and single-lever, and 4-wheel hydraulic front and rear disc brakes with a hydraulic rear foot-brake. It can carry 850 lb (385.5 kg) and tow 1,500 lb (680.4 kg). Electronic power steering is standard and fuel capacity is 11.75 gal (44.48 L).

The WV80 HO with NPTs goes on sale in December in very limited numbers.

Source: Polaris

There’s nothing that ruins going to work like having your tires shot out with a .50 caliber machine gun round. If that happens to you a lot, and your commute is across open fields and through the woods, you might want to consider the Polaris Sportsman WV850 HO with Terrain Armor. This military-grade All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) abandons traditional inflatable tires for Non-Pneumatic Tires (NPT) that feature a flexible polymer honeycomb.

Airless tires have been around in one form or another for a long time. The US military already uses them, the Apollo astronauts rode on them in their Lunar Rovers, some wheelchairs and special security vehicles have them, and they’re positively ancient when you consider that horse-drawn carts have run on iron tires for centuries.

According to the Minneapolis-based Polaris, its Polaris Defense division began offering its NPT tires to the US military as an optional extra this year. What is new with the WV850 HO is that the technology originally developed so that a Humvee could make it back to base after taking an AK47 burst in the wheels is now moving into the civilian market.

The NPT uses a polymer honeycomb instead of air

“In early, 2013, Polaris announced we’d launch the NPT technology on an off-road vehicle built for consumers,” said David Longren, vice president of Polaris’ Off-Road Division. “We have seen great success with NPTs in military and disaster relief scenarios and are excited to bring this technology to the consumer market for extreme work applications.”

NPTs have a number of advantages over inflatable tires. For one thing, they never go flat, don’t suffer from punctures, cuts, slashes, or outright bursting. This not only means not having to change tires unless one is almost destroyed, but that a spare no longer needs to be carried.

To prove how rugged its NPTs are, Polaris subjected them to fire from .50 caliber, M4, and AK47 rounds, then used them in logging over a distance of 350 mi (563 km), Then they drove a 3-in (7,6 -cm) railway spike into one and drove it 1,000 mi (1609 km). According to the company, the NPT also has a better center-of-gravity and takes corners better than conventional tires.

The WV80 HO has a military grade chassis

But the NPTs aren’t the only military-grade thing about the WV80. The 0.85-liter, 77-bhp, 4-stroke SOHC, twin-cylinder engine with electronic fuel injection has a high-capacity liquid cooling system that feeds into a military-grade automatic, single gear transmission with all-wheel drive and automatic descent control for going downhill. The shift lever lock, underbody skid-plate, push bumper, foot wells, chassis, and full-body steel exoskeleton are all military based.

With a dry weight of 1,114 lb (505.2 kg), the WV80 has dual A-arm front and rear suspension with heavy-duty shocks and single-lever, and 4-wheel hydraulic front and rear disc brakes with a hydraulic rear foot-brake. It can carry 850 lb (385.5 kg) and tow 1,500 lb (680.4 kg). Electronic power steering is standard and fuel capacity is 11.75 gal (44.48 L).

The WV80 HO with NPTs goes on sale in December in very limited numbers.

Source: Polaris

View gallery - 13 images
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17 comments
Simon Sammut
The WV80 HO with NPTs goes on sale in December in very limited numbers for the price of $Aahhhhrrrrggggg .......
Craig Jennings
Better COG? wuh? Or are they saying they're heavy as hell so lower the overall COG of the entire vehicle.
Timmah!
Never mind the WV80 HO, when/where can I get NPT's for my car?!
mooseman
Looks great! Really good to see these tyres coming into the civilian market. Another example of military tech trickling down to the civvies!
Nairda
While brilliant for its rugged characteristics, this wheel design is very noisy at speed. They were working on making the wheel more quiet as it proved undesirable for road going vehicles (at initial time of release).
But in this ATV the combustion engine would be loud enough. If for stealth reasons they went electric, the atv would need to keep its speed low.
Also, 100 rounds into the wheels may not make much difference, but one into the engine block might. Similarly, focus more effort on shrouding the engine so its not a magnet for RPGs,
PS - The sales guy might pull the wool over Defence office guy that authorizes funds, but the average farmer would immediately see this as a normal ATV with garnish and special wheels.
Vincent Bevort
What I would like to know is how smooth is the ride on a normal road and how fast can we ride on them? The rim of the tier look rather thick and hard so how will it handle bumps in the road when you travel with a speed of let's say 120km/h on a highway and counter a smaller hole or bridge connections- Are we launched into the air?
Paul Adams
Need some new tiers on my bicycle no need for a pump or repair kit nice :-).
Siegfried Gust
I can just see the openings getting filled with all sort of stuff, rocks and mud for example. A better application for this would be to put them inside a normal pneumatic tire so that in normal use they don't or barely make ground contact but offer run-flat capability should you puncture the tire.
Grunt
Such a vehicle is likely to be taken out with a burst of automatic fire, so, in that context, NPTs are irrelevant if the driver has lost his legs and the engine is defunct. However from the low maintenance and puncture proof aspects, definitely a step in the right direction.
BigGoofyGuy
I think that is really nice. I can see a problem with the sides being open like that. Things could get into it - like mud, sticks, poles, etc - that could hinder the pefermance of the vehicle it is being used on. I also see it as great since one would not have to pay money to use the air pumps at gas stations to add air to ones tires.
I am hoping that Michelin will make the Tweel available for cars. Like the one used on the ATV, it is airless. Since my little does not have room for a spare, it would be great for it. http://michelintweel.com/