This Side-By-Side Trades Trails For Race Tracks, With Help From Porsche Engineering

It came with a 925cc, 168-horsepower, turbocharged four-stroke two-cylinder engine and a passive variable transmission. It sent power to the ground through two modes: rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. But this one won't be clawing up hills or throwing rooster tails on sand dunes.

With a little help from Porsche Engineering, this Polaris is now a rear-wheel-drive, road-ready beast that can lay down quick laps at racet racks. And it goes way beyond the two Porsche 911 GT3 RS seats that we suspect Porsche connoisseurs will have already spotted. Moreover, it has quite a fanbase – it just sold at auction for $45,000.

Not Messing Around
Per the auction listing, the list of modifications is extensive. The notable changes include a conversion to rear-wheel-drive only, a mechanical locking system in the transmission, a KW Automotive suspension system that lowers the ride-height drastically, and an extended wheelbase. For the record, that big wing on the back is an upgrade, too. And it's needed, because without the front-drive mechanicals, there's even less weight for the still-stock 925cc turbocharged engine to push around. The stretched wheelbase and lowered suspension mean more stability in corners, and the wing provides more downforce at speed.

As the RZR is now built to go fast on tarmac, it needs tires suited for such conditions. Road tires mounted on 18-inch Alutec wheels sit in front of Porsche Cayenne S-sourced front brake calipers. The rotors come from an Audi R8, and the front hubs come from a Volkswagen Passat. This Polaris is now full of German components, and with names like Cayenne and R8 in there, we wonder if this side-by-side might even be a tad overbuilt. According to the listing, the engine still makes 168 horsepower and 114 lb-ft of torque. Polaris claimed the 2018 RZR XP Turbo S had a top speed of 84 mph.

Porsche Engineering RZR Origin
There are some conflicting reports of the Porsche Engineering RZRs origin. The first thing to note is that Porsche Engineering is an enterprise owned by Porsche AG, just like Porsche Design, but for engineering and consultation services. Its services range from automotive to industrial systems, and it has been involved in aircraft and wind power plants, as well as semi-trucks and forklift trucks. Among the automotive brands Porsche Engineering has been commissioned to work with include Mercedes and Harley-Davidson.

Ultimately, it seems unlikely Porsche would have been involved directly with building a one-off RZR out of a parts bin for a customer. We're more inclined to believe it was an inside project as an exercise, and not intended to leave the company. There's a video claiming to be a pitch video, but it only showed up a few months ago. After some sleuthing, we managed to find a photo of it on Porsche Engineering's website, shown alongside images of a surfboard and a forklift truck. That certainly supports the claims made in the auction listing.

According to the listing, the person that just sold the Porsche Engineering RZR bought it in January 2022 and only put on 150 of its 400 miles. If someone commissioned it, 400 miles is an absurdly low number. However, if it was built as an exercise or little skunk works project, 400 miles makes absolute sense. But whatever its origins, someone just bought an offbeat fun machine with an interesting story. Whether that's better than a less expensive but top-of-the-range Polaris Slingshot, we'd have to drive it to find out.