First Yamaha SR Viper Snowmobiles Roll Off Of Arctic Cat Assembly Line

The news that rocked the snowmobile world last spring has now come to fruition, as the first Yamaha snowmobiles are coming off of the Arctic Cat assembly line in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

The Yamaha SR Viper snowmobiles feature Yamaha’s 1049cc three-cylinder engine, formerly only found in Yamaha FX Nytro snowmobiles, in an Arctic Cat chassis. Sister machines from Arctic Cat will be called ZR 7000 models.

The press releases below are from Arctic Cat and Yamaha, respectively and in alphabetical order.

ARCTIC CAT PRESS RELEASE (Below)

Arctic Cat and Yamaha Celebrate Joint Snowmobile Production

First Yamaha SR Vipers Are Off Assembly Line in Thief River Falls, MN

Thief River Falls, Minn. (Sept. 30, 2013) – As the very first Yamaha SR Viper units rolled off the assembly line at the Arctic Cat factory in Thief River Falls, MN, employees involved with the snowmobiles gathered to celebrate. The milestone was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony with executives from both Arctic Cat and Yamaha.

Arctic Cat Chairman and CEO, Claude Jordan addressed the crowd stating, “Every employee standing here should be proud of this history-making day. We are very excited how our relationship with Yamaha continues to grow and the successful future that lies ahead for both companies. Jordan closed by saying, “Going forward we believe this relationship will provide tremendous value to Arctic Cat, our customers, our dealers and our shareholders.”

The all-new Arctic Cat 7000-Series snowmobiles are the result of an industry-first in the modern era: Arctic Cat is in a supplier agreement with Yamaha to leverage their respective strengths. For the first time ever Arctic Cat riders can match the renowned Arctic Cat ProCross chassis and handling with high performance Yamaha 4-stroke power. The C-TEC4 1049cc, three-cylinder engine is widely regarded as the most responsive, highest performing 4-stroke in the 135-hp category.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA president, Toshizumi Kato stated, “Together we have made a snowmobile which has the best of both our snowmobiles DNA. I look forward to a future of mutual and beneficial growth for both Arctic Cat and Yamaha. Today, let’s celebrate our accomplishment thus far, for tomorrow the opportunities are endless.”

YAMAHA PRESS RELEASE (Below)

First SR Vipers roll off the assembly line.

Pleasant Prairie, WI— More than two years of engineering, development, manufacturing and logistics work came to fruition in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, as the very first Yamaha SR Viper RTX SE units rolled off the assembly line at the Arctic Cat factory. The milestone was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony with executives from both companies and witnessed by the factory employees responsible for building the units.

“Our alliance is a show of great cooperation between our companies and this, I believe, is the biggest news to hit our business in decades,” said Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA president, Toshizumi Kato. “On behalf of Yamaha Motor Japan I would like to congratulate everyone on this major accomplishment of what we see here today. Thank you to the factory workers of Arctic Cat, you should be very proud of the work you have done.”

The all-new SR Viper models are the result of an industry-first in the modern era: Yamaha is in a supplier agreement with Arctic Cat to leverage their respective strengths. Yamaha is undisputed in the snowmobile world for its leadership position in high performance 4-stroke engines. Arctic Cat is known for lightweight chassis and suspension design.

“Together we have made a snowmobile which has the best of both our snowmobiles’ DNA,” continued Kato in his remarks. “I look forward to a future of mutual and beneficial growth for both Arctic Cat and Yamaha. Today let’s celebrate our accomplishment so far, for tomorrow the opportunities are endless.”

Full SR Viper model production is planned to begin at the end of September, with dealer deliveries ongoing throughout the fall.