The Funky Trike Gets Upgrades
I’m not one to really consider the Polaris Slingshot as a motorcycle, but the trike often gets lumped in with its much different two-wheeled counterparts. With that said, though, it is an important and interesting vehicle, and now it seems Polaris is going to update the engine and transmission. Motorcycle.com spotted some new patent applications that show the addition of a new cooling system, engine, and transmission.
The publication noted that the new engine will be designed and built by Polaris. The previous engine was a GM-sourced one. The new engine is an inline four-cylinder but the displacement of the engine is unclear. It’s also unclear if Polaris plans to use this engine instead of the current one used or if it will be an additional offering.
It is also clear that the new Slingshot will have a choice of either a manual or automatic transmission. The patent that Motorcycle.com points to for the engine doesn’t mention the transmission, but the publication said that previous patents used the word Autodrive for the Slingshot, so there’s a very good chance an automatic will be used. This most recent patent shows a clutch pedal, which would indicate a manual will be available.