August 8, 2011 – Can-Am Outlander 800 X mr relishes honor

The dealer reaction at Club BRP in Reno, Nev., in 2010 provided a hint at the success that the 2011 Can-Am Outlander 800R X mr would encounter.
It ranked at the top of dealer wish lists, at the same event in which the Commander side-by-side vehicle was launched.
The Outlander 800 X mr gained a head of steam at its unveiling, and hasn’t let up since. It was recently named the 2011 ATV of the Year by ATV Magazine.
“It’s certainly an honor for BRP to win that award because it’s a validation of everything we set out at the beginning of the project to deliver,” said Chaz Rice, manager, media and public relations for Can-Am. “We said ‘What can we do to deliver more value to that market?’”
Can-Am was already plenty familiar with the mud market, considering its partnership with Gorilla Axle, Inc., and its sponsorship of the Championship Mud Racing Series.
“It seemed like a natural fit,” Rice said. “A lot of those guys know that Can-Am is the brand for mud racing and riding. So in the development process, we were shooting for the moon. To get this award, for the design and engineering departments, it’s so important to them. We were really putting it out on the line, having an aggressive model like this one.”
Can-Am’s Air Control Suspension, Gorilla Axle caps on the wheels, Gorilla Axle Silverback tires and a relocation kit on the radiator are only part of the draw to the machine.
“I’ve seen people walk into a dealership, and they see that unit sitting there and they just gravitate to it,” Rice said.
From places like Mud Creek in Jacksonville, Texas, to your local trail system, the 800R X mr brings highly developed technology to the mud market.
“With a machine like this, we saw immediate benefits with the Outlander line,” Rice said. “We brought the CVT intake and exhaust way up into the machine as high as possible. There were immediate benefits because we brought that as a rolling change to our Outlander line as well. Dealers see benefits like that in the overall durability of the machine.”
As dealers who attended Club BRP in Montreal saw in July, the crossover among the various BRP machines is fruitful.
“We’ve learned so much from snowmobile,” Rice said. “The technology and knowledge that is shared between the teams really helps across the board. It not only cross-pollinates between brands, but also internally with the machines. The X mr helped develop the G2 Commander project.”
Projects like finding ways to ensure that the
X mr could be reliable in such a harsh enviroment, with no water ingestion into the engine, were tall tasks. In the end, they were also rewarding.
“That’s why this award is so important to us and our dealers,” Rice said. “It’s a validation. It brings people into dealerships and it gives the machine instant credibility.”
With the ACS suspension, riders are able to lower the suspension while en route to the mud hole. Upon arrival, riders get take advantage of the additional 2 inches of ground clearance thanks to the ACS. The X mr’s radiator relocation kit allows for the machine to run cooler, while the radiator stays void of water and mud.
“Mud riders take it seriously,” Rice said. “If you’re going to call it a mud machine, they’re going to be able to sniff it out right away if it’s not legitimate.”