Polaris Off Road, the leader in off-road vehicle innovation, today unveiled the industry’s first purpose-built race-ready UTV – the RZR Pro R Factory. Based on its award-winning RZR Pro R platform, RZR Pro R Factory is specifically engineered to thrive against the grueling demands of open desert racing, providing a powerful centerpiece for its recently announced Polaris Factory Racing team.

Harkening back to the days when automotive OEMs developed factory-engineered, race-ready trophy trucks for their factory off-road racing programs, Polaris is doing the same with RZR Pro R Factory and breaking entirely new ground for the UTV racing class. Four Pro R Factory vehicles have been developed for the Polaris Factory Racing team, with the team and vehicles making their debut at the upcoming San Felipe 250. This season will see the team compete in the SCORE International series and the Best in the Desert’s Vegas to Reno race.

“Since the early days when automotive OEMs drove the evolution of off-road racing, to the modern factory racing programs that exist today in auto racing, every legitimate factory racing program has been built around the development of a purpose-built race vehicle, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with the RZR Pro R Factory,” said Reid Wilson, Vice President, Polaris Off Road Recreation. “We are a company of passionate enthusiasts that live and breathe the off-road lifestyle and the development of the RZR Pro R Factory was nothing short of a labor of love. We are excited to arm our new factory racing team with this incredible machine as we embark on our inaugural season at the San Felipe 250.”

Last year, the RZR Pro R demonstrated an elite combination of performance and durability when Brandon Sims captured the 2022 Baja 1000 UTV Overall. With its purpose-built RZR Pro R Factory, Polaris has taken the Pro R platform and elevated it with a race-ready level of power, strength and control that’s capable of withstanding the harsh terrain and unrelenting demands of desert racing’s most daunting events.

Read more: Polaris Unleashes Rzr Pro R Factory, Industry’s First Purpose-Built, Race-Ready UTV

Side-by-sides are all the rage right now, and they have been getting even more popular over the past few years. In terms of off-road, four-wheeled fun, there’s no better way to tear up a trail in the company of family and friends. This year at Husker Harvest Days, we got an in-depth looks at one of Kawasaki’s flagship 2023 side-by-side models.

Kawasaki’s Teryx line of UTVs entered the market in 2008; at this time, it was one of few side-by-sides on the market that wasn’t focused purely on utility. They’ve since evolved to lean more on the performance recreation side, although base model (two-seat) Teryx and Teryx S LE models do still feature 600-pound capacity cargo beds and a towing capacity of up to 1,300 pounds. If a utility-focused side-by-side (with some thrills to be had in addition) is what you’re after, the Kawasaki MULE has always been the way to go.

The Teryx KRX 1000 line now serves as the go-to performance recreation vehicle in its catalog, offering a range of features and capabilities that make it a thrill to ride almost anywhere off the beaten path.

Displayed front and center was the all-new 2023 Teryx KRX4 1000 eS, Kawasaki’s flagship UTV model. The 999cc four-stroke, parallel twin-powered side-by-side boasts a new feature this model year with Kawasaki’s Electronic Control Suspension (KECS). The KECS high-performance suspension system provides the ability to adapt to a wide range of terrain in real time, granting the driver and passengers a much more comfortable ride over harsh terrain.

The four-passenger side-by-side’s suspension has different firmness levels, allowing for it to adjust from a soft mode suitable for choppy terrain or a more standard mode fit for a sportier ride and stiff turns through cornering. Paired with a 15.2-inch ground clearance, dual hydraulic disc brakes (two-piston calipers in front, single in back) and MAXXIS Carnivore 31 x 10.00R15 8PR tires, the TERYX KRX4 1000 eS is more than capable of handling rough terrain.

Read more: 2023 Kawasaki Teryx KRX4 1000 eS

Last week, Polaris invited me to come out to Road America in Wisconsin to test drive the all-new, all-electric Polaris Ranger XP Kinetic side-by-side UTV. After months of speculation about the brand’s first-ever flagship EV, I couldn’t turn them down.

Why did Polaris invite little ol’ Jo Borrás out to drive their new, 110 HP UTV? While it probably had more to do with me being the closest CleanTechnica writer available, I’m also smack-dab in the heart of the Polaris’ target market – or near enough, anyway, that our family recently picked up a new side-by-side of our own earlier this summer. What’s more, as a former sales manager at a Honda power sports store, I’ve ridden the comparable Pioneer and Talon models, and even sampled a Yamaha or two along the way.

I have also sampled Polaris’ first electric effort, the Polaris Ranger EV UTV. That vehicle – which developed prior to the Polaris/Zero motorcycle marriage – was powered by lead-acid batteries and had more in common with an E-Z-Go golf cart than a high-performance SxS. To someone who associates electric power with a gut-punch of off-the-line acceleration, it was disappointing … if not downright boring.

While the little Polaris Ranger EV UTV is capable enough to haul hay and hand tools around a small farm, I wasn’t convinced it merited its price tag, regardless of its electrified benefits. As such, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to come at this new Polaris with the sort of clean-slate objectivity that the company probably would have liked. To be extra, doubly sure that I gave the Kinetic a fair shake, I brought backup.

Read more: CLEAN TRANSPORT Tested: 110 HP, All Electric Polaris Ranger XP Kinetic UTV