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28th
September 2007
POLARIS
RELEASES FIRST PRODUCTION ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE (ATV) FEATURING ORBITAL
TECHNOLOGY
PERTH,
AUSTRALIA: Orbital
Corporation Limited today confirmed that Polaris Industries Inc.
has commenced production of the Orbital equipped direct injected
MV800 ATV.
The MV800 ATV is Polaris's first vehicle to
feature a newly developed Patriot Engine™ which is a 760cc,
30kW twin cylinder 4-stroke engine utilising a newly developed air
assisted direct injected combustion system. This patented spark
ignition combustion system allows the engine to operate efficiently
on JP8 (military specification kerosene) as the primary fuel, with
the first target market being the U.S. Department of Defense.
The new combustion technology also provides
the engine with significant technical benefits in comparison to
the traditional diesel compression ignition engines in this ATV
market with lower weight, superior driveability and almost twice
the power output. Overall vehicle performance running on JP8 is
the same or similar to the Polaris gasoline powered ATVs. In addition
the new engine can operate on other fuels including gasoline, JP5
and diesel fuels if required for short periods of time.
This new production launch represents the culmination
of a two year program of cooperation with Polaris to develop a spark
ignited engine running on kerosene without sacrificing the performance
of the gasoline engine. This engine and fuel system underwent an
intensive production validation as well as rigorous environmental
testing.
Orbital's CEO Rod Houston said "This new
engine launch is the product of a significant global team effort
between Orbital and Polaris, and we look forward to a continuing
cooperation on future engines and applications".
"This product launch is a key milestone
in the development of new markets for Orbital direct injection technology.
This is the first 4-stroke production application and we see this
as a key step in expanding the capability to many other engines
and markets," added Rod Houston. "The initial market for
this product will be the military, but the flexibility of the Direct
Injection system has now been proven, and we see the potential for
other commercial multi-fuel vehicles and gasoline engines going
forward".
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