SuperATV grew from a lift kit manufactured in an Indiana garage into one of the largest and most influential companies in the ATV and UTV aftermarket. Its products now cover suspension, steering, axles, portal gear lifts, drivetrain components, windshields, doors, vehicle protection, tires, wheels and numerous other accessory categories.
The company’s growth has been driven by an unusually integrated approach to product development. SuperATV combines vehicle measurement, engineering, prototyping, manufacturing, testing, direct-to-consumer sales and dealer distribution within the same organization.
Lindsay Hunt from SuperATV at the UTV World Championship.
SuperATV Begins With a Polaris Sportsman Lift Kit
SuperATV’s story began in 2003 when Harold Hunt developed a lift kit for his Polaris Sportsman ATV. Hunt started manufacturing and selling parts from his garage in Madison, Indiana.
The original product addressed a familiar problem for ATV riders: the need for additional ground clearance and enough room to install larger tires. Demand for the lift kit encouraged Hunt to develop applications for other vehicles, followed by axles, suspension parts and additional off-road components.
That garage-based operation steadily developed into a vertically integrated powersports company serving ATV and UTV owners throughout the United States and beyond.
SuperATV at the 2015 Rally on the Rocks.
Engineering and Manufacturing UTV Parts
SuperATV initially distinguished itself from conventional multibrand retailers by developing and marketing proprietary products. This provided greater control over design, fitment, testing, pricing and customer support.
As the catalog expanded, the company invested heavily in engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Its equipment came to include CNC machinery, laser cutting, Faro measuring systems, 3D scanning, axle-testing equipment, heat-treatment capabilities, powder coating and finite element analysis software.
These resources allow SuperATV to measure a complete vehicle, design a component digitally, produce prototypes and test the finished product against the demands of its intended application.
SuperATV headquarters in Madison, Indiana.
UTVGuide.net returned to Madison in 2019 for a more extensive tour of SuperATV’s engineering and manufacturing facility. During that visit, we saw drivetrain testing, billet machining, suspension production, powder coating, an in-house dynamometer, 3D measurement equipment and a large customer-service department.
SuperATV’s prototype and product-development area.
GDP Portal Gear Lifts
Gear Driven Performance portal gear lifts became one of SuperATV’s defining product lines. A portal relocates the wheel hub below the factory axle centerline, increasing ground clearance without relying entirely on changes to the suspension.
The gears inside the portal also provide reduction at the wheel. That reduction helps compensate for the additional weight and effective gearing created by oversized tires. The concept became particularly popular with mud riders, rock crawlers and owners building highly modified UTVs.
SuperATV expanded GDP portals through several generations, gear-reduction options and lift heights. The company eventually introduced products such as the 8-inch GDP portal gear lift and dual-idler portal designs intended to distribute loads across additional gear contact area.
Rhino Axles and Drivetrain Products
Rhino axles became another central part of SuperATV’s product identity. Heavy-duty axles address the additional stress created by larger tires, increased suspension travel, portal gear lifts and more powerful engines.
The drivetrain catalog expanded beyond axles to include prop shafts, carrier bearings, differential components, clutch products and complete transmissions. SuperATV’s newer geared-reverse transmissions for Polaris UTVs illustrate how far the company has moved beyond its original suspension products.
Suspension, Steering and Vehicle Protection
SuperATV offers suspension products ranging from replacement ball joints and tie rods to high-clearance control arms, lift kits and complete long-travel systems. These components serve customers building machines for mud, rocks, trail riding, utility work and backcountry travel.
The company also developed extensive cab and protection categories that include:
- Polycarbonate windshields
- Roofs and cab components
- Half and full doors
- Bumpers and brush guards
- Rock sliders and nerf bars
- Skid plates and underbody protection
- Winches and recovery equipment
- Lighting, storage and interior accessories
This breadth allows SuperATV to serve both customers making a single practical upgrade and builders transforming an entire machine.
SuperATV Racing and Product Testing
SuperATV increased its involvement in UTV racing during the mid-2010s by supporting racers including Mitch Guthrie Jr., Mitch Guthrie Sr. and Katie Vernola. The company later organized its own race program and attended events including the UTV World Championship and King of the Hammers.
Tyler Greves at the 2016 King of the Hammers.
Racing gave SuperATV an environment for testing suspension and drivetrain components under loads that are difficult to reproduce through normal recreational riding. It also increased the company’s exposure in the western performance market, supplementing its established presence among trail and mud riders.
Tyler Greves competing at the UTV World Championship.
Custom UTV Builds
SuperATV has also used custom builds to demonstrate how its products work together as complete systems. These projects have ranged from extreme mud vehicles to utility and recovery machines.
The SuperATV After Shock recovery UTV paired portals, suspension and heavy-duty axles with a wrecker boom, onboard welder, air compressor and generator. Another project transformed a CFMOTO ZFORCE 800 EX into a portal-equipped mud machine.
More recently, SuperATV turned a Can-Am Defender HD9 XT into a practical year-round farm UTV with cab protection, storage and work-focused accessories. The range of these projects reflects the company’s reach across performance, recreation and utility applications.
The SuperATV Depth Finder demonstrated the company’s mud-oriented products.
SuperATV Acquires Assault Industries
On January 6, 2022, SuperATV acquired Assault Industries, a California-based manufacturer known for aggressively styled UTV mirrors, radius rods, suspension components, steering products and other accessories.
The Assault Industries acquisition expanded SuperATV’s product portfolio and strengthened its reach among West Coast dealers and performance-oriented customers.
Assault Industries continued to provide a distinct brand identity within the broader organization. That approach allowed SuperATV to gain new products and customers without simply replacing the acquired company’s established name.
Dorman Products Acquires SuperATV
In October 2022, Dorman Products completed its acquisition of SuperATV for $490 million in cash, with an additional earnout of up to $100 million tied to performance targets in 2023 and 2024.
SuperATV had generated $211 million in net sales during fiscal 2021, illustrating the scale the business had reached less than two decades after its garage-based beginning.
Dorman is a major automotive aftermarket supplier with experience developing replacement parts, managing large catalogs and distributing products through retail, professional and online channels. The acquisition gave Dorman a significant position in the powersports aftermarket while providing SuperATV with access to the resources of a much larger public company.
SuperATV became part of Dorman’s Specialty Vehicle business segment while continuing to operate as a recognized powersports brand.
SuperATV’s Family of Product Brands
SuperATV developed a family of proprietary brands addressing different parts of the ATV and UTV market. As identified by Dorman at the time of its acquisition, these included:
- Assassinator Tires
- Assault Industries
- Black Ops
- EZ STEER
- Gear Driven Performance
- Intimidator Tires
- Keller Performance Products
- RackBoss
- REV1
- Rhino
- SandCat
- Terminator Tires
- Warrior Tires
- X300
- XR Optic
These brands allow the company to organize a very broad catalog while giving important product families, such as Rhino axles and GDP portals, identities of their own.
A Major Force in the UTV Aftermarket
SuperATV’s development mirrors the growth of the side-by-side industry. The company began by solving a problem for one ATV, expanded into machine-specific accessories and eventually built the engineering, production and distribution infrastructure needed to support a massive catalog.
Its strength is not tied to a single accessory category. SuperATV can develop suspension, steering, drivetrain, cab and protection products around the same vehicle platform, allowing individual upgrades to function as parts of a larger system.
From Harold Hunt’s original Polaris Sportsman lift kit to GDP portals, Rhino axles, complete transmissions and extensive vehicle-specific accessory lines, SuperATV has become one of the most consequential companies in the modern ATV and UTV aftermarket.
Visit SuperATV to view its current parts and accessories.
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