Polaris entered a three-year product-development and marketing agreement with off-road racer Robby Gordon on March 30, 2009. The partnership would produce a much more significant result than another celebrity-edition vehicle: the original Polaris RZR 4, the first factory-built four-seat sport side-by-side.
When Polaris announced the agreement, Gordon was already well known for competing in NASCAR, SCORE desert racing and the Dakar Rally. He had also designed and built his own Trophy Trucks through Robby Gordon Off-Road, giving him practical experience that extended beyond driving and promotion.
Polaris planned to use that experience to help develop future RANGER RZR vehicles and accessories. Gordon would also promote the rapidly expanding RZR family.
A Partnership Focused on Product Development
The agreement stood out because Gordon was not being hired only as a spokesperson. Polaris specifically identified product development as an important part of the relationship.
“Our relationship with Gordon is unique because he’ll not only promote our product but use his off-road expertise to help create future RANGER RZR vehicles and accessories,” said Matt Homan, then vice president and general manager of the Polaris Off-Road Division.
Gordon brought experience with long-wheelbase desert vehicles, suspension development and high-speed off-road handling. Those areas would become particularly relevant as Polaris prepared to stretch the RZR platform to accommodate four occupants.
Polaris Announces First Robby Gordon Edition, the Industry’s First Four-Seat Side-by Side
The Agreement Led to the Polaris RZR 4
Nine months after announcing the partnership, Polaris introduced the 2010 RANGER RZR 4 Robby Gordon Edition.
The RZR 4 was the first factory-built four-seat sport side-by-side. Before its arrival, owners who wanted to carry four people in a recreational UTV commonly installed an extended roll cage and rear bench seat on a Yamaha Rhino or another two-seat vehicle.
Polaris offered a purpose-built alternative with four individual seats, a stretched chassis and 12 inches of suspension travel. The RZR 4 retained the 760cc twin-cylinder engine used in the RZR 800 while adding FOX Podium X 2.0 shocks, chromoly upper front A-arms, a rear anti-sway bar and dual-rate rear springs.
The original model also carried black, blue and white Robby Gordon graphics inspired by Gordon’s race vehicles. His name remained closely connected to the RZR 4 through additional color and equipment packages offered for 2011.
Why the Original RZR 4 Mattered
The RZR 4 proved that a four-passenger UTV did not need to be designed primarily for utility work. It could provide the seating families wanted while retaining the handling, suspension and performance associated with a sport side-by-side.
We experienced that advantage firsthand with our own 2010 RZR 4 Robby Gordon Edition. It allowed our family to ride together in one vehicle without relying on an aftermarket rear-seat conversion. Our 2010 RZR 4 family trail build remained close to stock because the factory platform already worked exceptionally well for that purpose.
We also tested the RZR 4 with four occupants at Prairie City SVRA and in the dunes at Sand Mountain. Its combination of passenger capacity, suspension performance and stability demonstrated why four-seat sport UTVs would become such an important part of the market.
The Lasting Impact of the Polaris–Gordon Agreement
The three-year agreement was temporary, but the vehicle category it helped establish was not. Polaris followed the RZR 4 800 with the higher-performance RZR XP 4 900 for 2012. Four-seat versions would eventually become standard across nearly every major RZR platform.
Gordon later worked with Arctic Cat and Textron on the Wildcat XX before launching Speed UTV. His emphasis on suspension geometry, chassis construction and rough-terrain performance remained visible in those later projects. We recently revisited that progression while driving the Speed UTV El Diablo Rock Edition.
The 2009 Polaris agreement therefore represents more than an old marketing announcement. It marked the beginning of a collaboration that helped turn the four-seat sport UTV from an aftermarket idea into a factory-built category.
Learn more about the original RZR 800, RZR S, RZR 4 and the machines that followed in our complete history of the Polaris RZR.
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