Getting into the cramped cockpit is a bit of a task, but then this is a purpose-built race-car and not a luxury sedan. Comfort takes a back-seat in the pursuit of the podium. Having secured the six-point seat-belt, the driving position feels purposeful and the simplicity of the design becomes even more evident. I give the team a thumbs-up and they crank the engine up with the spring-loaded rope starter. Remember, there is no electric starter motor here. Who needs the extra weight of that, anyway?
Once the engine putters to life, I shove my right foot enthusiastically enough to leave a butt print on the seat. Impeccable throttle response and the CVT means there is no pointless engine revving before take-off. This buggy is fast and the physics at work surreal. The absence of a windscreen means you are no longer watching some more television. You are in the scene. And if you realise you’ve gone faster than your guardian angels can fly, the Bybre brakes bite with a ferocity that locks up all the four wheels. Steering is direct and responsive and heavy-footed driving will have the MK-IX over-steering. Push it hard into a corner and the rascal gladly goes sideways. Although the COEP ground did not offer much off-road terrain, the MK-IX wheeled over the undulations with considerable aplomb.
All in all, this is a fun-loving ATV that beckons to you to be adventurous and leaves you grinning as if a coat-hanger is stuck between your jaws. It is like the friend that your parents warn you not to hang out with, but you still do because it is quite simply…fun! It bullies the terrain like a tractor, has the grunt of a gen-set, steers like a go-kart, looks like a buggy and is still a race-car — red in tooth and claw. The MK-IX is a hoot and we are no longer surprised why it left no nemesis standing at BAJA.
