Celebrating Forty Years of Polaris INDY (1980-2020)

With the 2020 model year of new sleds upon us, it marks the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Polaris TXL INDY to the industry.

While there had been other snowmobiles to previously be fitted with an independent front suspension, it was the 1980 Polaris TXL INDY that truly brought IFS to the masses and made the technology mainstream, forcing the other manufacturers to develop their own IFS systems or be left out in the cold.

Polaris had become the leader in using IFS to dominate the oval racing scene in 1977 & 1978 with their dominating Midnight Blue Express race team riding their RXL race sleds to fame and fortune. The lessons learned and knowledge of working with the trailing arm IFS design led Polaris to further the technology and introduce it for their cross country racing efforts in 1979, and consumer use in 1980.

Here at SnowTech, we fondly remember riding our very first 1980 Polaris TXL 340 INDY. The front suspension made such a profound difference in the ability to ride the sled through the bumps that the rear suspension then became the limiting factor. It truly made obsolete all others, instantly. Of all the new models we’ve ever had in our test fleet over the years, the 1980 TXL INDY (and the 2003 Ski-Doo REV) would likely rank as the most influential and game-changing snowmobiles to ever be introduced.

To read our in-depth article on the development of the 1980 Polaris TXL INDY by SnowTech Vintage Editor Hal Armstrong CLICK HERE

Now for 2020, the Polaris INDY name returns to its former glory with the introduction of the new Indy XC 137” models to compliment the Indy XC 129” models introduced for 2019. No longer positioned as “value” sleds in the Polaris line-up, the new Indy XC models are full-blown high performance models that continue the Polaris tradition of bump-swallowing front suspensions that instill the greatest of confidence in their riders, as proven by their performance both on the race courses and on the trails.

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of INDY, Polaris is offering a special retro graphics package for select 2020 INDY XC models, complete with the starburst on the side panels. We think they’re one of the best looking graphics packages to ever be offered by Polaris!