When the decision was made to discontinue the snowmobile line in 1982, a new technology in snowmobile design was about to emerge. John Deere had patents, plans, and even prototypes of several snowmobiles built with independent front suspension (IFS).
The more commonly known version utilized a strut/knee action suspension, and was installed on a modified Liquifire. There were 2 prototypes.
The lesser known version was an A-arm design, with a fan cooled motor. The motor was a Kawasaki never before seen, and never seen again. There was one prototype.
Many people refer to these as the Wildfire, however it was never officially called that. There is a Deere document that suggests the name Wildfire could have been the name for the 1980 Liquifire.
The current location of the sleds is not known. It is assumed that they were moved to the Polaris factory after the snowmobile division was bought out, but where they went from there is a mystery.
The patents can be seen on our web site:
prototypes page.
These pictures are believed to be taken outside of Polaris after the buy-out:
The following picture is the IFS fan cooled version. I apoligize for the poor quality. It is a photograph of a photo, and did not come out well.
Liquifire II/IFS Liquifire/Wildfire
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Liquifire II/IFS Liquifire/Wildfire
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