Can-Am Unleashes 240-horsepower Maverick

While the side-by-side world isn’t our standard fare, the latest bonkers creation from Can-Am is too good not to share. For 2024, the Maverick will be available with a gobsmacking 240 horsepower from its 999cc turbocharged triple.

That’s in a machine with a listed dry weight of roughly 2,200 pounds, giving it a power-to-weight ratio roughly equal to that found in a Ram 1500 TRX which packs 702 horses for shifting its 6,400-lb mass. This thing is going to fly. Also on board is a seven-speed DCT transmission with optional paddle shifters. Drive modes abound – one shifts around 4,000 rpm, another kicks that to 8,500 rpm, while a third does the same but with a so-called anti-lag system. Expect to hear a few pops and crackles, then.

Helping it on its landing is a set of trick Can-Am shocks, with the top-tier Maverick R X RS featuring 25 inches of wheel travel (26 inches out back) when accompanied by Fox Podium Piggyback with bypasses and Smart-Shox tech at each corner. In plain English, this means there’s dual-valve compression and rebound baked into the dampers; pickup truck fans can think of them as sorta similar to the baller DSSV units found on Chevy’s brawny and capable Colorado ZR2. It's 77 inches wide on a 108-inch wheelbase, if you're wondering. The list continues with 32-inch tires, 17 inches of ground clearance, and the ability to make trail markers pregnant as you zoom past (maybe).

The cabin gets a huge tech upgrade in the form of a 10.25-inch touchscreen display, solving a long-running complaint leveled by this author every time he belted into a Can-Am over the last few years. Until now, Can-Am owners had to endure endless ribbing from their Polaris buddies whose rigs have long had snazzy RideCommand whilst they made do with what was essentially a digital alarm clock from the 1980s. Other key changes to this jaundiced eye include a gear selector which will no longer mash yer hand when shoving the thing in park. And when you’re spending carlike money on these things, this stuff matters.  

How much money? Well, it’ll cost at least $35,499 to get into a Maverick R and its 240 horses but a trim with the trick dampers will start at $44,299. For fun, we checked just about all the option boxes we could find on the configurator – including a $5,100 JL Audio sound system with six speakers and two butt thumper subwoofers – and ended up with a total easily cresting 60 large.

If you're looking for me, I'll be in the desert.

[Images: Can-Am]

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