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Polaris Industries, Inc. has acquired the powersports portion of swissauto Wenko AG, a designer and developer of high-performance and high-efficiency engines

Founded in 1987 by Urs Wenger and Beat Kohler, swissauto's core capabilities are in developing, prototyping and manufacturing internal combustion engines. The company, based in Burgdorf, Switzerland, and 100 percent owned by Wenger, Kohler and two other associates, employs approximately 30 people in two locations - in Burgdorf, where design and development of engines and vehicle prototypes are the main focus, and at a site in Mellingen, where development, optimization and mapping of supercharging devices for the auto industry are main activities.

The Minnesota-based OEM acquired the powersports portion of swissauto and plans to continue to operate the business in Burgdorf. The automotive division of swissauto was not involved in the acquisition and will continue to operate autonomously.

The Burgdorf location includes two engine test benches; one rolling road test bench; several data acquisition and application tools; Unigraphics 3-D CAD systems used for design and modeling; integrated machining capabilities for prototype and small series parts; and a workshop for assembling and optimizing prototype parts and vehicles.

“Swissauto has industry leading powertrain design and development capabilities and a strong understanding of turbo-charging and high-performance engines,” says Polaris Chief Executive Officer Scott Wine, adding that the acquisition will further strengthen the company’s global engine and vehicle design capability while also enhancing the company's European presence.

Last week, during Polaris’ year-end investor’s conference, Wine said “international growth” would be a primary focus for 2010 and said the OEM would allocate more focus and resources on opportunities outside of the United States.

Swissauto Wenko AG Timeline

1989…Optimizes the Judd V8 engine for a Team Brabham F1 car, which obtains a podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix.

1992…Engine development and prototype manufacturing begin for the Swatch hybrid concept cars (Smart pre-project).

1995…Develops a two-stroke 500cc V4 engine for motorcycle GP racing. Obtains 29 wins and 41 pole positions.

1999…Develops a new engine for an MZ race bike to campaign in GP1 motorcycle racing. Obtains two pole positions and several top ten rankings.

2000…Development begins on the SA250 2-cylinder 4-stroke kart engine.

2003…swissauto’s MPE750 engine is used in the Polaris MSX personal watercraft.

2004…Polaris begins production of the FS / FST snowmobiles with swissauto’s Weber MPE 750 engine.

2005…Develops 4-stroke stand-up personal watercraft for Hydrospace.

2008…Production begins on a new high-performance single-cylinder engine for various applications.

swissauto's two-stroke 500cc V4 engine powered this MZ-badged GP1 race bike. The firm also developed engines for Polaris' MSX personal watercraft and four-stroke snowmobiles.