Description
More Four-Strokes
Some folks were worried that Yamaha’s departure from the snowmobile market and Arctic Cat’s unstable situation would result in the end of the ferocious, 200ish horsepower Yamaha turbocharged triple in snowmobiling. Well, with Cat back, that’s not happening. In fact, use of the engine actually expands by one model in Cat’s lineup.
Back are the ZR 9000 Thundercat EPS ATAC model plus the Riot 9000 EPS. The Thundercat spins a 137-inch RipSaw II track around the coupled Slide-Action skid while the Riot whips a 146-inch Cobra track around an uncoupled Cross-Action rear suspension. Only colors and graphics change 2026.
New, though, is a Pantera 9000. It’s a two-passenger tour bus with an attitude. In introducing the model – which features EPS, heated driver and passenger seats, an auxiliary rear fuel tank and much more – Halvorson acknowledged that Yamaha basically had this setup in model year 2025 with its Sidewinder S-TX GT EPS. With Yamaha’s departure from the market, Cat essentially picked up the model to offer it to the most discerning power-touring riders.
There are also two returning models in the 2026 Arctic Cat lineup featuring the naturally aspirated 1049cc Yamaha triple that started the Cat/Yamaha relationship way back in model year 2014. They are the unchanged ZR 7000 single-passenger rig and Pantera 7000 2-Upper. All four-strokes are back in the ProCross or related ProTour chassis layouts.
