Saturday 6th February
Polaris Slingshot: Driven
One wheel short of the full four-square, the Slingshot is a properly mental bit of kit...
Whoa!
This is no ordinary test drive. This is no ordinary vehicle. I have never used the nonsensical phrase 'very unique' in my life, but theis exerting such a gravitational field of oddness that it's scrambling my grammar. It IS very unique.
Polaris is probably a brand you've never heard of, unless you happen to be a farmer, polar explorer or in the SAS. It offers the weirdest catalogue of vehicles in the world: snowmobiles, cruiser bikes, electric city cars, ATVs, armoured vehicles...
But the Slingshot has to be the weirdest of them all. Let's face it, thanks to Mr Benz motoring may have started on three wheels but here in the 21st century most of us have settled on a minimum of four.
Huge 255-section rear tyre still has traction issues
White-knuckle etch-a-sketchThe obvious first question - why three wheels? I asked Polaris and was told because it's different. Excellent answer. Three-wheelers are for purists and mentalists. Pure, because three is the fewest number of wheels needed to stop a vehicle falling over. And mental, because trikes eventually deliver the sort of 'moment' that, er, really reminds you that you're alive.
That moment comes for me in the Slingshot when I'm carrying a fair amount of speed into a corner, which then suddenly tightens. I back off the gas, attempt to pile on extra lock and hope. Everything lightens - front grip, steering feel, back end - and for a moment I have no idea what's going to happen next. Then suddenly I'm through.
Which at least shows that the Slingshot has the balance to keep you confident. Not always the case with three-wheelers. And it also reminds me that the phrase 'slow in, fast out' has never been more relevant.
Once you accept this tenet, the Slingshot transforms into a surprisingly agile machine. It laps up being hurled into bends at speed, the ultra-stiff front end keeping the whole thing very flat and roll-free. Massive 225/45R18 tyres provide incisive front-end grip, while in contrast the back end feels like it might break traction at any moment.
Three wheels yes, but it's still a big old thing
Familiarity breeds contentTo avoid that feeling of terror and start really enjoying what the Slingshot has to offer, you have to learn its ways. First: what happens is very surface-dependent, and very speed-dependent. At high speeds, there's masses of grip. But at lower speeds, use your right foot with care. Time and time again putting the gas down on exiting a village, the back end slithers around like a boa. The merest hint of dust on the tarmac will see it dancing about (note, only 34 per cent of the weight is over the rear). You also need to brake and downshift with care; twitches from the back end await.
Don't get me wrong here, it's all fantastic fun. Fact is, the traction control and ESC work pretty darned well and with impressive subtlety to haul you back from any feeling of impending catastrophe. Even so, take-offs from a standstill are hilarious. Even mild acceleration squeals the 255/35 ZR20 rear tyre, and giving it the full beans smokes it up like a shotgun. And that's with the traction control on; if you switch it off you're in a world of outrageously lurid tail-wagging action. All very well on a dry Spanish road - what the hell is it going to be like in the wet?
Hold on tight Chris!
The intensity and fun has to be offset against some surprisingly agricultural controls. The steering, for instance, is taken directly off a Polaris off-road vehicle, and is pretty wooden in feel, especially near the dead-ahead. Even though Polaris describes 3.2 turns lock-to-lock as 'fast', it isn't especially. But then, a quick steering rack on this thing would probably put you in a hedge faster than a McDonalds bag jettisoned from a teenager's Vauxhall Corsa. The non-servo brakes need a good hoofing too, and are prone to fading with over-enthusiastic use.And then there's the engine - GM's 2.4-litre Ecotec four-cylinder lump from the Pontiac Solstice is hardly a thing of engineering grace or aural splendour. Even the front-exit exhaust - which should really sound amazing - emits rather a dull drone.
Still, 175hp in a machine weighing 786kg (or 223hp per tonne) is a recipe for a lot of fun. It's quick, if not Caterham-quick. Polaris doesn't quote a 0-60mph time but I reckon it's probably around the six-second mark, while the top speed is about 130mph.
The Aisin five-speed manual gearbox has a short, fast action. The 'box is pretty quiet, but drowned out by the mechanical whine from the rear end - power is transmitted to the back wheel via a carbon-reinforced belt. The Slingshot's construction is a semi-exposed steel spaceframe, cast aluminium rear swing arm, aluminium double wishbones and an anti-roll bar up front.
Well if you want unique...
Acid frenzyWhat were the Slingshot design team on when they drew it though? It looks like a Hollywood sci-fi movie designer dropped some LSD and mashed up a KTM X-Bow with a Morgan. The sheer pile-up of contrasting shapes is frenetic: leaping front wings, projecting spoilers, protruding transparent LED tail lights, angular aluminium roll-over hoops - even a centre rear fin. The Slingshot does look utterly amazing on the road, and you soon get used to the whoops and hollers of onlookers as you cruise by.
The look and feel of the injection-moulded panelling makes you feel you're riding a dodgem in Blade Runner - only compounded by the glittery sparkle coming from the candy red paint (the only option in the UK).
Step inside and the Tron-like waterproof seats feel rubbery to the hand, and not terribly comfortable or supportive. Although you sit exposed (there are no doors, no roof and only a tiddly Perspex screen to deflect the wind), it's actually quite civilised to drive. If you're tall, you might be buffeted too much to ride without a helmet, but at 5ft 8in I felt pretty comfortable bare-headed.
Being a North American creation, it comes with luxuries like USB ports, Bluetooth, an audio system and even a reversing camera. You also get usefully sized lockable luggage pods behind the seats, which are ideal for helmets.
£23K and Bluetooth? Bargain
Who will buy?What is the market for the Slingshot? In the USA, where it's been on sale for 18 months, Polaris says one third of buyers are "seasoned" (read: old). Another section are bikers wanting to switch to a more social side-by-side seating position. And one in five buyers is the hardcore performance-orientated enthusiast of the PistonHeads variety.
Hardly surprising. It's not only bonkers to look at, it drives like nothing else out there. And it's actually fantastic value at £22,999. Shame it's left-hand drive only for now - Polaris hints that a right-hooker could be on sale in sometime in 2017.
In all the time I spent with the Slingshot though, one thing was bugging me. Why is it so BIG? For a bare-boned two-seater, 3.8 metres long and almost two metres wide is enormous. Why not make it 25 per cent smaller all round?
The chaps at Polaris tell me this is very much the future direction of the company's new Roadster division. So that sounds like a micro-Slingshot may well be on the cards. Could I please request a high-revving screamer of an engine and a sequential gearbox? Just don't turn down the level of bonkers - that's just fine as it is.
POLARIS SLINGSHOT SL
Engine: 2,384cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive by belt
Power (hp): 175@6,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 167@4,700rpm
0-62mph: 6.0sec (est.)
Top speed: 130mph
Weight: 786kg
Price: £22,999
Find out more at the Polaris.