Arctic Cat was formed by snowmobile pioneer Edgar Hetteen in 1960[2] after leaving his previous self-started business, Polaris Industries. Arctic Cat grew to become a major manufacturer of snowmobiles, watercraft, winter clothing, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).[3] The company's first name was Polar Manufacturing, but it soon changed to Arctic Enterprises.[2] The company made its first snowmobile in 1960.
In 1968, a 15,000-square-foot winter-wear factory was opened in Rainy River, Ontario, employing an additional 60 workers.[4] In 1970, they started the Boss Cat line.[5]
Various boat manufacturers including Silver Line, Lund, Larson, and Spirit Marine, were bought and operated throughout the 1970s to expand the company.
Arctic Cat went bankrupt in 1982 but two years later, a new company, Arctco, was created to continue the production of Arctic Cat snowmobiles.[2] In 1996, the company changed its name to Arctic Cat.[6]
The company has produced many other product lines including snowblowers, generators, mini bikes, personal watercraft, helicopters, and two-wheel drive vehicles. The brand's headquarters has relocated several times,[7] but Arctic Cat continues most of its manufacturing, along with snowmobile engineering, in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.[8] The company also manufactures engines at a facility in St. Cloud, Minnesota.[9]
On January 25, 2017, it was announced that Textron would acquire Arctic Cat for $247 million in a cash transaction.[10] The all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side models branded as Arctic Cat were either discontinued or rebranded as Textron. The snowmobile models kept the Arctic Cat brand.
In early 2019, the company announced that the Arctic Cat brand would return to its side-by-sides and ATVs beginning with the 2020 model year.[11]
In December 2024 it was announced by Textron that manufacturing operations in Thief River Falls and St. Cloud, Minnesota would cease in the first half of 2025, releasing all employees.
Arctic Cat currently sells the M Alpha One, M Mountain Cat Alpha One, Riot, Riot Touring, ZR, ZR R-XC, ZR Thundercat, ZR RR, Norseman, and Pantera.[12] Many models are configurable. They also sell two youth snowmobiles, the ZR 120 and ZR 200.
A former model, the Firecat F-7, could overheat when ridden on ice and in marginal snow conditions. Though most sleds experienced no issues, this resulted in a class action lawsuit and settlement, under which Arctic Cat bought back 3,200 short-track Firecat F-7s from owners.
Arctic Cat started producing all-terrain vehicles in 1996 and side-by-side ATVs in 2005. They currently sell the Alterra 600 TRV, Alterra 600, Alterra 450, Alterra 300, Alterra 90, Wildcat XX, Prowler Pro, and Prowler Pro Crew.[13] Most models come with ride-in suspensions and electronic power steering capabilities.[14]
The original design of utility ATVs was offered from 1996 to 2004 and featured single-cylinder liquid or air-cooled motors from 250 to 500 cc, all of a common design. This Arctic Cat-designed motor was manufactured by Suzuki and featured a 2V SOHC design with hemispherical combustion chambers. Manual and CVT automatic transmissions were offered. A 650 V2 V-twin engine option borrowed from the Kawasaki Prairie was also offered starting in 2003. A major redesign of the platform was launched in 2005.
With the new redesign came new bodywork, electronics, a rear-mounted gas tank, and a standard front-locking diff. The chassis remained largely unchanged. A new high-performance engine platform also debuted in the 650H1. This H1 platform was a direct evolution of the previous Suzuki-manufactured engines with many parts being interchangeable, but was now manufactured by Arctic Cat in the U.S.
A 700EFI model was also offered, which used an engine and transmission combo borrowed from the Suzuki King Quad model. This is a 4V DOHC design with no relation to the H1 engine platform. This was replaced with the 700H1, which was a higher displacement version of the 650H1 with fuel injection added. A multi-fuel capable Parallel Twin diesel made by Lombardi Marine was also available in the TRV 700 chassis from 2007 to 2015 in limited quantities. A 1000cc H2 V-twin engine was also made available.
In 2014, Joshua Newman provided extensive belt testing for the 400 cc air-cooled model, improving the brand's reliability.[citation needed]
The Arctic Cat brand returned to the ATV lines in 2019, for model year 2020 vehicles.[11]
Side-by-sides
2016 Arctic Cat 700 Prowler HDX
Arctic Cat offered its first side-by-side UTV, the Prowler, starting in 2005. The Prowler was a utility model with a large rear-mounted box similar to a pickup truck bed. It was mainly intended for utility and farm use. A high-performance model, the Wildcat, was also launched to meet the new demand for recreational UTVs aimed at high-speed trail riding, which was made popular by the Polaris RZR.
In 2017, Arctic Cat produced its final model for UTVs after joining Textron with variations of the Wildcat and Prowler being offered under the Textron Off Road brand name.
The Arctic Cat brand returned to the side-by-side lines in 2019, for model year 2020 vehicles.[11]
