An ATV Like No Other – Meet The Ripsaw F4

Imagine seeing these on the trail!

What we consider the “norm” for off-road machinery is actually a whole process of trial and error. It all starts with wild ideas, miniatures, mock-ups, prototypes, testing and, if all goes well, a production model.

And, as crazy as it sounds, every one of us has a vote in what becomes the norm and what disappears from the market entirely. How? Our wallets get the final say! If something does well sales wise, models continue to exist and get updates, the competition does their best to offer something similar, and a whole class is born.

We decided to take a look at the opposite of a success story – here’s an off-road machine that was making waves about 15 years ago now that has since gotten pretty quiet.

Developed from Howe & Howe Tech, the Mini Ripsaw was a stand-on tank built upon a Polaris 850cc ATV engine.

We never had a chance to try out that original Ripsaw but have to admit, the pics and clips show something that must have been quite the experience in action.

While the original Mini Ripsaw seems to have fallen out of favor, Howe & Howe is far from MIA. In fact, the team never stopped pushing the envelope when it comes to tank-tread off-road vehicles. These days they split their development efforts into defense contracts and civilian off-road rarities.

On the defensive front, they offer a line of dozers designed for the rigors of fighting fires and bomb-defusing remote machines for SWAT Teams.

On the civil front the Ripsaw legacy lives on as well. These days the Ripsaw comes in the F4 configuration, which Howe & Howe calls “the world’s fastest dual tracked vehicle”.

“Built for extreme off-road enthusiasts, the RIPSAW F4 has the power to take you where you want to go. The F4 is engineered as an all-terrain vehicle with high-speed mobility. Its heavy-duty rubber tracks allow the vehicle to tackle sharp slopes and loose terrains with ease. The RIPSAW F4 has 4-passenger carrying capacity so that you can share the excitement. Simply enter through the gull wing doors and buckle those seatbelts for the ride of your life!”

If like us, you felt your credit card jump in your pocket upon reading that, let your wife now the bank account isn’t in danger just yet. H&H says, “While we are not accepting RIPSAW F4 orders, we can’t wait to show you what’s next!”

To learn more, head to their official site here.