The Martelli Bros released their top secret video for Polaris this morning featuring the 2014 Polaris RZR XP1K. I think this video will re-define and open a new chapter in automotive car pornography. I went out to watch some of this being filmed and I have to say its awesome.

Unlike the “Quick and Upset” franchise this was all done in camera, no men in green tights or geeks up late at night in post production houses adding efx smoke or removing stunt pulleys.  The Martelli Brothers, best known for the original Ken Block Gymkhana videos, spent weeks preparing a disused silver mine, just east of Cochella CA and transforming it a skate park for off-road vehicles.  About two years ago I encouraged Wyatt Knox, a friend and fellow rally driver, to film himself doing a skate trick in a car and putting it online in the hopes it would go viral and perhaps encourage some sponsorship.  The results were hilarious and low-fi.  That annoying man-boy Rob something or another from MTV, then followed suit with a rail-slide in a Mustang; and then then chaps from the Bandito Brothers blew the doors off, by bringing all our childhood Hot Wheels fantasies to life.  That was going to be a difficult act to follow.  But the Martellis decided it would be worth standing around in 125 degree (I’m not kidding) and risking the life of desert racing wunderkind, RJ Anderson in the pursuit of excellence.

The Martelli Brothers Film Crew
The Martelli Brothers Film Crew

A friend and I rode out there on motorcycles and almost perished in the boiling wind.  We arrived to watch RJ pulling one trip up that giant concrete plate after another. Each time pushing it a little harder and getting closer to the edge.  Had we arrived to see the hero trick?  We then received the tour in one of the standard Polaris (which I have to admit was impressive) as jumps and other tricks were pointed out.  Some of the jumps were life-ending.  Concrete is not a very forgiving surface for landing.  To stand at the base of that huge hill he comes down, was also mind blowing.  There is no way to test this, so they just went for it and if something had gone wrong, he would have probably died of dizziness, as his juiced golf kart flipped end-over-end for ten minutes.

A quick "selfie" of the massive drop off of the dirt hill
A quick “selfie” of the massive drop off of the dirt hill
The massive hill.
The massive hill.
Behind the scenes of the 2014 Polaris RZR XP1K Video Shoot
Behind the scenes of the 2014 Polaris RZR XP1K Video Shoot
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Behind the scenes of the 2014 Polaris RZR XP1K Video Shoot
Concrete Jungle
Concrete Jungle

Oh and a little word about said golf kart, 200 horsepower on something that weighs almost nothing.  Pound for pound, this gets power to the tires like a WRC car.  I was expecting to have a little leg-stretch in it myself, until one of the stunts didn’t go so well and the rest of the day was called off while RJ’s chakras were realigned.

RJ Anderson
RJ Anderson
2014 Polaris RZR XP1K
2014 Polaris RZR XP1K
RJ Anderson
RJ Anderson
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Staging area

We retired to a very civilized meal, served up by a caterer slash desert racer; and then drank lots of beers and talked racing with the Martellis until it was time to retire to one the Steel miner houses assigned to us.  My companion and I sat up late wondering about the misery enjoyed in these houses during its heyday, Christmases and hammer fights.  The place even had its own prison which I checked out and it was outside.  Ugh in this heat I can imagine that was not enjoyable.

Our room for the night.
Our room for the night.

With a doctor’s thumbs up filming resumed and the results are now here for all too see.  RJ deserves a lot of credit as he was  there for days on end risking his spleen over and over again to get the beautiful shots they came away with.

Big air!
Big air!

The GGTR is about racing but there are these rare moments when you watch someone handle a machine jealously.

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YouTube Information:
The new 2014 Polaris RZR XP1000 is the most powerful and advanced UTV to hit the market yet. With the launch of this machine, Polaris has completely reset the performance bar, and there is no better combination of fun and performance, especially for the price. We wanted to build on that platform and show the world how incredible the XP1000 is — so we created XP1K.

UTVUnderground.com and Mad Media tapped our friend, championship UTV and Pro-Lite racer RJ Anderson to pilot our 2014 Polaris RZR XP1K machines, and together we put down a dream list of stunts and tricks that we could stich together into a single, over-the-top video.

We assembled an off-road dream team to build two RZR XP1K UTV’s, so that we could attempt the most fantastic and challenging UTV stunts ever filmed. Our RZR XP1K machines started out as bone stock 2014 Polaris RZR XP1000’s — and were built into race ready vehicles with the help of suspension master Randy Anderson (Walker Evans Racing), UTV racecar builder and racer Mark Holz (HOLZ Racing Products), engine and drivetrain guru Kevin Kroyer, (Kroyer Racing Engines), and Polaris RZR turbo expert Trey Lokey, (MCX-USA Turbos). We also got a ton of support from the technicians at Polaris — who were instrumental in helping us breathe life into these cars.

The location we picked for XP1K is called Eagle Mountain. It’s an abandoned iron mine just East of Palm Springs, California that has been used in several TV commercials and movies. Our video doesn’t feature futuristic killing machines (Terminator), but it was the perfect off-road playground to showcase RJ Anderson’s aggressive driving skills, car control, and the power and durability of the new RZR XP1000.

The goal of this project was simple. We wanted to share our love of UTV’s with the world.
We wanted to put YOU in the drivers seat, and let you feel what it’s like to smash the gas pedal and GO!

Keep track of all the XP1K news and information at www.XP1K.com

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