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The Prowler was all-new and designed to be Cat's future. It had a new A-arm front suspension that lent itself to future model differentiation. Longer reach A-arms could be readily adapted to suit the needs of a higher performance model. That Suzuki-built 440cc lightweight twin sat in an engine bay that could easily fit bigger twins (and did!). The sled was purposely light and claimed to weigh in at about 400 pounds. That put it in direct competition with front-running Yamaha's popular Phazer.
One key difference - the Yamaha used an air-cooled twin. Cat brought a lightweight, liquid-cooled engine to the party, and it was light. Weighing less than 50 pounds, the new 440 was more powerful and lighter than the 440cc twin Cat used in its popular Jag series.
Cat revealed a completely new rear suspension. Of course it was a slide rail design. After all, Cat engineers designed and pioneered that part of snowmobile history! The Prowler rear setup was light with a coil-over-shock in the front, a tube shock at the rear and a set of torsion springs. You got 7.5 inches of progressive action. It was a big deal in 1990.
Steering was direct and light feeling on the trail. The bell cranks used on the previous AFS front ends were eliminated. The engine was extremely low for extremely positive handling and incredibly nimble steering. Sounds a bit like the Firecat, doesn't it?
Like Yamaha's Phazer, Cat housed its instrument cluster on a steering/windshield pod. However, Cat designers figured out how to keep the wind chill to a minimum by making the windshield and cowling much more effective against the cold than the Phazer.
This first-edition Prowler ignited sales for many seasons, as it became the base for virtually all the new Cats for a decade. A stretch version became the Pantera. A widened version became the EXT. Fan-cooled versions brought in buyers on a budget.
As for important sleds in a corporate history, the Prowler may be the most significant sled of Cat's "modern" era. Before the Prowler, all Cats were updated carry-overs of Arctic Enterprises engineering and thinking. They were good and they served the purpose of helping Cat get back in the game, but it was the Prowler that gave Arctic Cat its staying power and provided the company the future that it has enjoyed to date.
When you walk around a swap meet this season and spy a Prowler, or a Prowler-based Cat, give it a nod of respect. It's an important sled in the history of our sport.