Look out Polaris Industries and Arctic Cat.
Here comes an all-terrain power wheelchair from Otto Bock, a German prosthetics and wheelchair manufacturer with its North American headquarters in Plymouth.
The company will display its SuperFour wheelchair — complete with all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering — starting today at the Abilities Expo, a showcase for independent and assisted living products that runs through Sunday at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Currently, Otto Bock is evaluating the U.S. market for the SuperFour — including what kind of price it might command — so the off-roading wheelchair isn’t yet available here. But company spokeswoman Nicole Muehlenhaus said Otto Bock started selling the SuperFour last year in Europe for about 40,000 euros, or about $56,000.
The SuperFour can handle inclines of up to 40 degrees, the company says. Even on such a steep incline, an adjustable automatic seat tilt prevents operators from sliding off. The wheelchair gets up to 120 miles on a tank of regular unleaded gasoline by operating on a combination of a gas-powered motor and electric batteries.
“It is a 100 cc motor — the size of a moped motor — and takes about 1.5 gallons,” Muehlenhaus said. “When the battery is low, you can turn on the motor, which charges the battery. When the battery is charged enough, you can turn the motor off.”
The SuperFour is manufactured in Germany. Otto Bock’s local operation was established 50 years ago and currently employs about 250 people in Minnesota.
A spokesman for Thief River Falls-based Arctic Cat said Thursday his company doesn’t currently sell ATVs designed specifically for wheelchair users. There was no word from Medina-based Polaris.
Christopher Snowbeck can be reached at 651-228-5479.
