Muzzy’s Performance Big-Bore 1132cc Polaris RZR

Aug. 31, 2015 By Seth Fargher
Muzzy's Performance decided to take the success of its big-bore kit for the two-seater RZR XP1000 and parlay it to the four-seater... and what came out of the project is the Purple Haze RZR.

These days, highly accessorized Polaris RZRs are a dime a dozen. Countless up-fitters offer every bolt on goodie imaginable. It’s not at all uncommon for a user to pick up a brand new RZR from their dealer and take it straight to their local chop shop for some new enhancements without running so much as a warm-up cycle.

While there are some incredible fabricators in the UTV industry today, a large portion of aftermarket components is purely cosmetic, such as cages, doors, graphics, stereo, communication systems or maybe an exhaust just to wake the motor up a bit. Believe it or not, some of the most head-turning machines you might lay your eyes on out in the dunes or desert really don’t have a lot of performance-enhancing modifications done to them.

Muzzy’s Performance Purple Haze Big-Bore Polaris RZR packs some serious horsepower, but it’s also just as impressive in the looks department.

That, however, is not the case with this beautiful new shop car from Muzzy’s Performance. In fact, the gang from Muzzy’s went to great lengths to ensure this wasn’t just another “all show, no go” project, and the crew enlisted the help of some of the biggest names in the off-road industry to help make it happen.

Whether on flat ground or an incline, just push your foot a little further toward the floor and Purple Haze is sure to react.

“We had a great response to our big-block engine package for the RZR 1000 two-seat model, so when we started kicking around ideas for a new shop car, and Rob (Muzzy) decided the four-seat model would be the next logical step,” said Lorin Morrell, marketing director for Muzzy’s Performance. “I got on the phone and started making calls to some of my contacts in the industry to gauge the level of interest and it really just snowballed from there.”

We found we didn't have to carry as much speed around bowls in order to keep our momentum up.  We could just press the throttle and power anywhere we wanted.

One of the first companies to come on board was Glazz Kraft, makers of custom fiberglass body kits for UTVs. Their custom kits are manufactured to combine style and function, and they have quickly carved out a name for themselves since opening their doors in 2006. 

Another decision that was made early on in the project was the color scheme. Rob Muzzy owns a limited edition Vulcan motorcycle that boasts a deep purple pearl color. Even before they had all of the details ironed out for the project, Rob knew he wanted the car to feature a similar shade of purple. 

No that’s not an optical illusion: Proline Wraps incorporated the Muzzy's Performance logo in the wrap covering the inside of the wheel.

According to Morrell, the goal from the beginning was to go with a sort of vintage-cruiser look, as evidenced by the ceramic-coated Muzzy exhaust with brushed end caps and powder-coated black versus the more popular polished version – nothing too loud, just clean and subtle with great attention to detail. To accent the deep purple color, Morrell had a host of accessories, supplied by Axia Alloys, which were hydro-dipped to give the look of carbon fiber.

Rockford Fosgate kicked in a complete stereo system with SSV Works pods and volume control and Rugged Radios provided its four-seat intercom system. Rigid Industries handled illumination, including not only a 30” radius light bar but also its front grill that incorporates a 10” light bar and a host of other accent lights including an underbody light kit. As you can imagine, all of those extra electronic components meant that wiring the car cleanly could be a real puzzle, and one that Morrell readily admits took some head scratching.

The upgraded Walker Evans shocks on Muzzy’s RZR really aided the handling of the four-seater to complement the performance increase from the big-bore kit.

“We spent a lot of time mapping out where we were going to run stuff, drilling holes in the cage to run wiring harnesses through and keep everything out of site,” he said. “It’s not the easiest considering there are 12 lights under the body of the car alone.”

At the heart of the beast is Muzzy’s own 1132cc big block engine kit, featuring CNC machined cylinders, their own camshaft, valve springs and custom JE pistons manufactured to Muzzy’s  own specs. Fuel delivery is controlled by a programmed DigiTune Gen 4 closed loop programmer.

Fullerton Sand Sports supplied Purple Haze with some 28" STU Sand Blaster rear paddles and Sand Rasor fronts.

In fact, when asked what sets the Muzzy engine apart from the competition, reliability is among their chief concerns. Everything is manufactured in house with special attention paid to ensure consistency and quality in every engine. All the cylinder heads are CNC machined and every head is hand ported by Rob or his factory mechanic of 21 years. As evidenced by 21 AMA Superbike championships, two World championships and an induction into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, Rob has figured out what works and the industry has recognized that.

We had a chance to get behind the wheel of this custom RZR recently, and without question the power plant steals the show. It’s not a hard hit like we experienced recently when test riding the new RZR XP Turbo, but the power more so comes on strong and just keeps pulling. We had the opportunity to carve some large bowls and snake through sandy trails, and everywhere we went the power was immediate and just felt like it was wanted to keep going.

After even a few minutes in the Triple X seats, going back to the stock version would be painful.

Sand is notorious for robbing horsepower, particularly when climbing hills. But one thing we noticed with Purple Haze, even when it eventually stopped accelerating on ascent, is that it didn’t lose power – it remained incredibly consistent throughout the powerband. As you can imagine, with over a 60% increase in horsepower, the back end can break loose without much effort, which makes it an incredibly fun vehicle to drive. The power increase is so subtle that you almost don’t realize how hard it’s pulling until you get back behind the wheel of a stock machine.  The same can be said of the upgraded Walker Evans shocks.

While the engine is without a doubt the center of attention, the little details and creature comforts are really what push this machine over the top.

“There really are so many cool, intricate factors on the car,” says Morrell. “From Rigid’s grill setup with the integrated 10” light bar to the custom wrap on the inside of the 14” Hiper beadlock wheels with carbon fiber-esque hydro dipped bead lock rings. The goal was to build something really classy that people admired, and then when they looked again started to see all the little details. [We wanted] people to notice something new each time they come back.”

We love the look of polished exhausts, but we understand what Muzzy’s was going for and think the black finish ties in nicely.

The Muzzy Performance crew definitely accomplished their goal of attention to detail, from the custom gold leaf decals to the pearl purple finish that changes color depending on the lighting.  All of the extra goodies like the stereo, communication system and aftermarket Triple X Seats make this turnkey UTV as incredible to drive as it is to simply admire.

Selfishly we’re hoping they bring it with them to the Idaho UTV Invasion so we can spend some more time behind the wheel!

Purple Haze Specs - 2015 Polaris RZR XP1000-4
MUZZYS Billet 1132cc Big block engine kit (+60% HP increase)
MUZZYS Camshaft set
MUZZYS Valve Spring set
MUZZYS Cylinder head hand port, and valve conversion
MUZZYS Fuel injectors
MUZZYS/Carillo Rods
MUZZYS Dual Exhaust, Black finish
MUZZYS DigiTune Gen4 closed loop,Fuel management
MUZZYS single color DigiWhips
MUZZYS 1132cc specific Dirty Dawg clutch

Rigid Industries: LED 10” front light bar & Grill, 30” Radius Light bar, Underbody light kit (12 lights), Reverse lights, Dually side lights, Dome lights

Rockford Fosgate: Front T1675 6.75” coaxial , 2- T4002 400 watt amps (Frt & Sub), T1S10 10” Power series subwoofer. Bluetooth hide away unit.

Triple X Seats: Venom Custom black, with dark grey ostrich insets and carbon fiber style piping

Axia Alloys: Rear view mirror, side mirrors (L & R ), Quick disconnect Fire Extinguisher , OHV Tag plate, all custom hydrodipped in carbon fiber

Rugged Radios: RRP660 4 seat intercom system, Vertex VX2200 50 watt radio system

Walker Evans: Custom build 2.5” piggyback shocks

Hiper Racing Wheels: Sidewinder 14 Carbon fiber wheel, billet Fusion center, custom carbon beadlock ring

Fullerton Sand Sports: 28-14 STU Sand Blaster rear, 28-14 STU Sand Razor front

Proline Wraps: one off Turned Gold Leaf logos, one off Carbon fiber logo wheel wraps

Simpson Race Products: D3  3” harnesses front and rear

The car also features: TMW Offroad 4 seat cage and doors, GlazzKraft body, 3 stage Pearl Purple black mica by Robberson Custom collision


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