As the rumors continue to circulate about John Deere’s potential interest in acquiring Arctic Cat from Textron, thoughts of interesting old John Deere snowmobiles come to our minds.
One such sled is the Spitfire. Unveiled in model year 1978, it was in essence built upon the same concept that more recently was behind the Arctic Cat Blast chassis sleds. It was made to be small, light and inexpensive, with fewer parts and a simplistic design.
Below is text on the 1978 Spitfire as printed in Snow Goer after it was first unveiled. The words and photo were lifted from the 1978 Buyer’s Guide issue of Snow Goer. It was published in the fall of 1977. Elsewhere in the same issue, the Spitfire was also featured in a short article with the headline: “6 Brand New 78s That’ll Give You An Honest 20 MPG.” In Snow Goer’s test at the time, the spry little Spitfire logged 27.4 miles per gallon. It was only bested by the Arctic Cat Jag 3000 in the 34-mile test drive.
For a more long-term look on the Spitfire, check out David Wells’ Flashback article that was published in 2021. It showcases the sled’s strengths and weaknesses, and its place in snowmobiling history.
And, for the record, we don’t know at this point if John Deere is seriously considering making an offer to Textron for Arctic Cat. Or if Textron would even consider an offer. Yes, we can confirm that a group of John Deere officials definitely visited the Cat factory in late May. But there are many reasons that such a visit could happen. For instance, Deere has “jobbed out” the making of its Gators in the past, and even had BRP private label it a line of ATVs for a while.
So, while you stew in those rumors, enjoy some Deere memories. Everything below is text directly from our 1978 Buyer’s Guide.
AFFORDABLE SLEDS: John Deere Spitfire 340
The long-awaited Lil’ John is here and the brand new Spitfire 340 is a welcome addition to John Deere’s line-up for 1978.
Based on Snow Goer’s 1978 new model tests, the Spitfire is light, comfortable and easy handling on tight, rough trails that it was built to conquer. At 310-pound wet weight and 272-pounds dry, the Spitfire is also the lightest sled we tested.
In addition to its light weight and easy handling characteristics, the Spitfire also houses a number of firsts. John Deere’s newest sled features the first direct drive that has ever been produced in quantity. The Spitfire’s secondary sheave is mounted directly on the track drive shaft. Thus, power is transmitted directly from the secondary clutch to the track drive. Gear reduction is determined by the size of the track drive sprockets used.
By going direct drive, Deere has eliminated the secondary shaft, bearings sprocket, chain and tensioner, plus the chaincase.
The Spitfire is also powered by another first. Its 340cc Kohler twin is the first free air ever marketed by John Deere’s snowmobile division. Rated at 25 hp at 5500 maximum rpm, the Spitfire free air front mounted engine is detuned to produce the flat torque curve necessary to power the direct drive system successfully.
Getting the torque to the track is brand new Comet drive clutch that is an extremely simplified design that uses series of nine pucks instead of the conventional ramps, rollers and springs. Centrifugal force causes the wedge-shaped pucks to go in an outward direction against the cover and the immovable face. This causes the two to separate and force the sheaves closer together and moves the drive belt into a higher ratio. The pucks are made of a long lasting material – mineral-filled nylon with a trade name of Minlon.
A new soft seat and all-aluminum slide rail suspension, similar to that used on the Liquidator cross country sleds, accounts for the quality ride of the Spitfire. Beneath the suspension is a 15-inch three piece rubber track with full length, riveted grouser bars.
Ski stance on the Spitfire is 30 in. Suggested retail is approximately $1,399.
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Really that would be Sweet, hopefully they can stop the recalls that are starting to affect Arctic cat that Polaris can’t seem to under Textrons ownership as well, I was going to jump ship from Polaris because they cant seem to GET IT TOGETHER on the recalls, I had my Polaris sitting in my trailer ALL WINTER LONG because of it ,zero mile that’s a big fat 0 ,in fact I put more miles taking it to the dealer who did FA for me to try to get back on the trails asap,so insurance,license,and trail pass I spent $1000 for absolutely nothing but frustration and headaches from Polaris and when I called their customer service I complained about them too as it went nowhere, imagine that a complaint against a complaint dept,I’m not hard to please I just want someone held accountable for the problems and do something for the people who get SHAFTED by these big companies.
Just imagine how many sleds you could sell today at that price. The good old days.
I would buy this for my kids or even myself as a small sled over anything on the market today.
Trail fire 440s where badass as well
I had both a ‘79 Trailfire 440 and a ‘80 Liquifire 440. The Trailfire was fun; the Liquifire was exciting with ~2X the HP! Both were well made – little to no problems with either one.
Great news if John Deere does buy Arctic Cat and builds Arctic Cat and John Deere sleds.
Bring back the Liquidators and Traifires and SportFires and Spitfires.
They built great sleds and did well in the Winnipeg to St. Paul International 500 Cross Country races.
The sleds were well built and lasted a long time.
Need a quality sled builder now that Yamaha no longer makes sleds.
Be nice is SnoJet, Rupp, Aloutte, Scorpion, SKIroule and MotoSki came back as well.
We had an added line about the add that said ‘SnoJet gets you there!’. …. Snowshoes get you back!
Chapperal and Mercury would be welcome back as well.
Maybe if JD comes back they can make a similar ad campaign as Yamaha’s Johny skeptical with Johny and Bunny.
Arctic cat needs to dump Textron asap. Textron invested in Cat only to be more excited and building their golf carts than aggressively rebuilding a newly acquired company. They made a huge mistake by trying too kill the Arctic Cat named and put there name “Textron” on sleds and ATV/UTV’s and that move BACK FIRED it was huge a mistake.
I truly feel bad for the people at cat that are giving their blood sweat and tears to make Arctic Cat a dominant player again. If Cat was smart they would purchase Yamaha building rights on the snowmobile line. (would make a lot of Yamaha owners thrilled) and patents on a true leader of quality and dependability, then tell textron to step up or get out of the way!! Especially in ATV/UTV market and dominate like they should have done back when Wild Cat performance side by side was first introduced. They had the market and could have dominated on this area but due to poor management of original owners they delivered a huge gift to Polaris.
Go John Deere!! Buy Cat because Cat can run like a Deere. 😊 what a strong future for all involved. Let Cat engineers shine and production flourish and people at Arctic cat hold their heads high once again.
Arctic Cat’s mismanagement was a major reason my favorite Arctic Cat Dealer to go out of business. That and of course the economy and the poor winter also did not help any. But well before high interest rates and the poor economy and the poor 2023-2024 snow season, Textron/Arctic Cat was really hurting their dealers. Had a new Catalyst ready to be purchased. I let it sit and purchased a new Ski-Doo MX-Z 600R instead.
I would think the debut of the Spitfire may have had been due to Yamaha’s instant success with their little, short track 1977 Enticers. Wow was that thing an instant hit and an over achiever. Shortly the 300-twin followed with the same success. Enticers that survived in good shape are worth brand-new price or more still today. The Bravo also found a strong market waiting for it for it later on.
I am very much pulling for JD to buy Arctic Cat and keep the snowmobile line alive as I don’t have a good feel this will happen under Textron and we CAN NOT afford to lose Cat. I thought JD had something going on with BRP back in the early 2000’s. I loved that JD colored REV that showed up on the internet. That should have gone into production.
What would happen with BRP making John Deere SxS if JD buys AC?
Bring on the big green black and grey sleds great quality, great price, great reliability of the past vs the poor quality and no reliability of today’s sleds (shame on you Polaris,your were the best for decades).
Reason Polaris stopped production of Victory motorcycles was they were too good, never broke. Stupid people bought hardly go Davidson, that always break and are poor performers.
Pretty sure JD will buy AC and announce it a Hay Days. No way JD sold a sled sweatshirt now unless they had plans to either have AC build their SxS and ATV’s and likley sleds.
ACJD will have similar arrangement as AC YAM i.e similar models with slight colour, decal and small cosmetic changes like gauges, windshields and seats.
ACJD will easily triple recent AC sled sales in first year of production which will be 26MY.
It will attract many buyers to a trusted large well know US “agricultural, forestry and residential lawn care business”.
Since February Deeres social media pages have been advertising that they used to make snowmobiles, they also came out with a line of retro JD snowmobile appeal. They are creating buzz and excitement around the nostalgia of the brand before announcing they are getting back into the sport by acquiring Cat
Hay Days will be celebration of Cat Days and John Deere Days as it will be the fall harvest for JD/AC brand birth, Arctic Deere and Deere Cat. Green and yellow is back for AC and JD sleds.
Lots of qualified technicians and increased dealer availability at JD dealers to increase places to buy and service sleds. Very easy dealer expansion which is much need for the AC brand.
You all forgot this.. John Deere cannot make snowmobiles because Polaris owns the John Deere snowmobile division when JD sold it to Polaris a good 40 years ago. They still have that “Wildfire” concept sleds they showcases about 10 years ago at a snowmobile show. Look it up YouTube. So then Deere needs to buy back rights and the old sleds from Polaris and move 50 miles to Arctic Cat. This is a major stumbling block you all have forgotten! Yeah I like to see the Wildfire we all have been waiting for!
Polaris bought the old inventory of John Deere (they did not buy the shares as it was just a division of JD not a separate company) and made parts for several years later. they did not buy the John Deere name nor the rights to JD sleds. JD would never sell their patented name when they are in business.
The 3 minute videos just shows a modified 1980 or so modified liquifire with struts, well used.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&q=youtube+polaris+john+deere+wildfire+sled#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:d4ac7b28,vid:9xsEj3yaK9w,st:0
IMO Hay Days will be the big reveal and 2026 will the first model year of the new joint venture of JD/AC sleds. 2025 will be the first year for SxS and ATVs.
It is an inexpensive purchase for JD due to AC poor market share, poor winter season and long, long long term (since 1970) declining sled sales for the industry plus it is great to keep the JD dealerships busy in the winter for sled sales and maintenance and to get them to look at buying expensive JD agricultural, forestry, construction and landscape maintenance machinery and implements and for customers to bring their kids with them to the JD dealership and to enjoy the off season with their family from the spring – fall busy season.
Textron wants out they don’t want to invest in EV sleds, ATV and SxS, it is too expxensive with a very small market share and a vastly declining industry. They want to do what they did with Polaris and sell when the market is in a real downward spiral and cut their losses.
The JD/AC joint venture is a win win for everyone, JD, AC, customers and the industry. It is what the sport needs.
IMO Big count down now, 30 days to see if the JD/AC joint venture or purchase is real or not at Hay Days.
The industry and sport need this to happen for revitalization. Everyone should be happy with this and be talking about this.
Will they give a tease to MY26 sleds or just do the expected AC 650-700 motor?
Will they do a tease to MY25 SxS and ATVs?
All 3 manufacturers will be doing a refresh to 700 cc motors which is an update to the main 600 cc motors in the 1990’s to 2010. There were great 700 cc motors in that era as well but the meat of the market was the 600cc, IMO the meat now will be the 700 cc motors as it will be a much better price point for almost as great as performance as the big 850s which they can sell and even increase the price for the few who will buy the most expensive sleds in the market.
Maybe JD/AC will really focus in this sector int eh spirit of the great WildCat 650 and ZR 700 of the 1990’s.
Lets wish them luck and success.
Very soon big green will own the black and green.
Welcome back to the green machine.
Sure hope our expectations are met with John Deere either buying or having a joint venture with Arctic Cat. If so it should be announced tomorrow at Hay Days.
Shucks looks like John Deere was only looking for potential new manufacturers for there SxS and ATV but not to buy Arctic Cat or maybe they will but announcement will be later. What is the SxS and ATV Hay Days equivalent?