The Canadians next attempt to stamp their brand on the forefront of buyers’ minds involves conquering the racetrack with a sports weapon that will act as a flagship image builder for the brand as a whole.

That machine is the all new Can-Am DS450 and I was lucky enough to recently sample the only machine in existence outside North America.

A 450cc race quad needs a quick revving engine that makes plenty of power matched to a manual foot operated gearbox and hand operated manual clutch.

A lightweight, agile chassis and top shelf suspension components along with premium brakes and slim ergonomics are also mandatory to round out a truly competitive race machine.

I am happy to report that the DS450 delivers on all fronts.

Can-Am claim the DS450 to be the lightest and most powerful 450cc race quad on the market. My brief but satisfying casual liaison with the DS450 doesn’t allow me to categorically state that as fact but it was enough to say that they’re pretty damn close.

The machine feels tiny, is easy to move around on and proves extremely light and easy to handle. Straight out of the box I suspect that the DS450 may indeed set the new benchmark in chassis design. The brakes are also outstanding in both power and feel.

In the engine room however I am not quite as ready to back up their claims.

The tacky clay test track littered with plenty of slick puddles presented conditions almost totally alien to this Sandgroper really made it quite difficult to compare the engine against the established class peerage.

My brief experience with the machine does however suggest that this might be the only area Can-Am might fail to live up to the marketing hype.

The fluid delivery of the fuel injection in comparison to the instant brutal response delivered from the accelerator pump assisted flatslide carburetor fueled competition is marked, and this perhaps may mask the motor’s grunt a little.

In my brief experience, the DS450 certainly didn’t feel quite as hard edged and aggressive in the engine department as say Honda’s TRX450R. It is still plenty strong though and clearly likes to rev hard.

Ingenious positioning of the suspension pivot points and ground breaking front end geometry is what makes the Can-Am stand out amongst the competition.

These suspension innovations could be what enable the DS450 to achieve success when it hits racetracks around the world as one simply can't imagine at this stage of the game any manufacturer to deliver a significant engine advantage over each other. There is only so much power that can be wrought from a 450cc single. As such it is much more likely that the next major jumps in performance from manufacturers will come from chassis and electronics rather than through sheer horsepower. Of course we will have to wait until the DS450 has been race developed and is running head to head with the established 450cc class peerage to see if it is the Canadians that will deliver this next level of performance.

The trucks with the first stocks of the Can-AM DS450 and DS450X rolled into their Sydney HQ today and consists of 25 units of each model. The 450 will retail for $12,990 and the fruited up 450X comes with a whole lot of goodies for only $1,400 extra. The $14,390 450X comes with KYB HPD piggyback shocks with high and low speed compression damping adjustments, black alloy rims with enforcement rings, alloy bar risers and alloy taper bars with square pad, alloy bumper that is plate ready, nerf bars, chassis/swingarm aluminium skid plate, quick adjust clutch, special seat and X package graphics.

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