QUICK IMPRESSION: SPEED UTV EL JEFE 4-SEATER

Highly anticipated and exclusive first drive of the Speed UTV By the staff of Dirt Wheels

We stopped by Speed UTV’s booth at the Sand Sports Super Show where a large gathering of people were inquiring about the production Speed UTV cars. It’s been a few years since Robby Gordon dropped the news about his new company. Since the news, there has been a brewing anticipation, and many people are wondering what his product will be like. Over the years prototypes have been in ready view being driven and even raced by Gordon and his son Max.

The Speed UTVs almost have the look of a small trophy truck, and that is especially true of the four-seat El Jefe. That visual relationship isn’t surprising considering Gordon’s acclaimed history in truck racing.

When we asked Robby where his El Jefe would shine, he calmly and confidently told us, “Everywhere.” He claimed he wanted to make a car that could perform well in any terrain or discipline. Luckily, we were the first media source to ride in the car and drive it to learn some details about it.

THRILL OF THE DAY

At first it was just a simple meeting between Dirt Wheels and the Speed UTV crew. After about literally a handful of words, Robby kindly asked us if we wanted to “go for a ride?” The threat of a good time was enough for us, so we got in and buckled our seat belts.

Robby told us the car was his beater test machine with almost 4,000 hard miles on it. That fact became more impressive a few seconds later when we were hauling through rough sand whoops and big G-outs at 60 mph. We had two staffers: one in the back seat and one in the front seat. After the first pass, our senior editor asked to be let out of the car, while the younger, more daring editor stayed in the car for a few more passes.

With only two in the car, Robby said, “Okay, this time we’re going 75 mph through that section!” It was quite a thrill, though a little scary at times, too, but it was more apprehension about the El Jefe being able to cope with the pace than questioning RG’s capability. We’ve ridden with some great drivers, but Robby Gordon’s reputation behind the wheel is deserved. After that experience, we got a sense of his passion for not only driving but his ambition for testing even while we were riding with him.

CAPABLE IN MORE WAYS

We could not believe the speed he was carrying through big G-outs. We’ve been in cars that would break in a flash at the speeds he was carrying. The second big standout was how straight the car stayed at speed across rough, uneven straightaways. El Jefe is an obvious standout when compared to most cars we’ve been in.

When we remarked about how impressive that aspect was, he claimed it was because of the suspension design. He said the wheels move more vertically than some cars with suspension designs that allow the wheels to scrub in and out or allow the toe to change when the suspension compresses.

BORROWED FROM HIMSELF

Robby did a lot of work with Arctic Cat, and some have speculated that the suspension has been built up from the Wildcat XX platform he helped create. He never actually said that to us, but the suspension is very similar to the Arctic Cat Wildcat XX. It’s a design we are very fond of and believe adds great performance to the El Jefe.

The chassis provides 15 inches of ground clearance and uses the same double-plunge 300m star axles as Robby’s Dakar race UTV. Front suspension starts with double A-arms set up with 22 inches of travel and preload-adjustable house-brand shocks. Independent rear suspension is also set up with 22 inches of travel.

Power is provided by your choice of a 225- or 300-horsepower model with twin cylinders and a single turbo. Rather than a transmission with the normal high and low forward speeds, the Speed UTV has three forward speeds (P-R-N-Lo-Hi-Cruise) in the CVT with shift on the fly. Adding a third forward “speed” or range in the transmission makes the Speed UTV engine highly flexible and effective in action. We don’t have much experience with a shift-on-the-fly transmission, so when we drove the car, we had Robby handle the shifting so we could concentrate on suspension and engine performance. The transmission has yet to be proven in the hands of consumers, although it’s an interesting and practical concept. Speed UTV offers the 300-horsepower Speed Key tune, which unlocks the 85-mph governor and also voids Speed’s standard warranty. The engines are stock with an alternator to power the dry-sump oil-circulation pump and power steering.

IT LIVES

We climbed in the El Jefe driving seat straight from our Polaris RZR Turbo R 4 Ultimate. We’d rate the Turbo R as one of the best UTVs we’ve ever driven. Both cars were fitted with 35-inch tires. With a claimed 225 horsepower, it was no surprise that the El Jefe ran strong. We’d say the suspension action was the most impressive. It was far smoother on the corrugated chop that litters the transfer sand sections of Sand Hollow. Impressive handling accompanied the excellent suspension. It was not surprising that Robby Gordon could make the El Jefe feel impressive, but we were still surprised at the performance when we drove it. At human velocities the El Jefe was outstanding and far better than we anticipated.

We drove the high-mileage preproduction car, but Gordon claimed it was at least 95-percent production spec. We had another car along that was even closer to production.

FINAL THOUGHTS 

What we know at this point is that the car we drove was pre-production, so some things could change. We found it refreshing to hear Robby talk about his car with such intensity. He’s obviously passionate about making a product people will love, and his experience has already been infused into the car. We feel it could be a serious weapon in multiple disciplines of desert racing.

Since our test drive Gordon has posted a video saying that the first shipment of machines was heading to buyers and a second wave was coming. And as much as people might be annoyed to keep hearing that, we can say the cars will positively surprise any doubters.

SPEED UTV EL JEFE

Engine type Inline liquid-cooled 2-cylinder 4-stroke

Displacement 999cc

Fuel system EFI

Fuel capacity 15 gal.

Starting system Electric 

Final drive CVT 3-speed 

Suspension/ wheel travel:

Front Double A-arm w/ 22” travel

Rear Trailing Arm w/ 22” travel

Tires:

Front Speed UTV 9.5×15

Rear Speed UTV 9.5×15

Brakes:

Front/rear 4-wheel hydraulic disc Wheelbase .120”

Length/width/height 161”/77”/70”

Ground clearance 15”

Payload capacity 1000 lb.

Curb weight 2552 lb. 

MSRP $34,500, Base; $38,499, LE; $41,999, RG Edition

Contact www.speedutv.com