Ski-Doo Elite

The Ski-Doo Elite is a side by side snowmobile that was created in 1974 by Bombardier Inc. This unique type of vehicle was 48 inch wide like all other snowmobiles and had two tracks underneath. The engine was placed in the back and there was a cargo compartment in the front. The production was halted in 1982.

In 2004, Bombardier unveiled it's 30th anniversary Edition. The 25 000$ snowmobile was equipped with the most powerful 4 stroke made by Bombardier at the time (The 140hp 4TEC) and was one of the few snowmobiles on the market using that type of clean technology. This vehicle also had :

*New type of steering wheel similar to an airplane yoke
*A complete Aluminium Upper Structure
*A windshield
*2 removable doors
*2 bucket seat with 3 point seatbelts
*1 Kevlar reinforced driving belt (no chaincase)
*A reverse lever
*Front and rear torsion bars
*3 radiators (One on each track and one fan)

Although the vehicle had a huge success with its initial clients, performing well with a good reliability record, the vehicle was only produced for a year (2004) and only 500 copies were made. The low volume was simply not high enough for a large corporation like Bombardier who specializes in production runs from 5,000 to 100,000 units.

Interesting fact, the Elite was produced in Sherbrooke, Québec on the same assembly line as the NEV vehicle (A Futuristic Golf Cart). Charles Bombardier was responsible for the Engineering and Production of this 30th Anniversary edition and he worked with a small team of 8 people to develop the project in 18 months. The Elite was also the last Snowmobile made by Bombardier inc, who then sold it's activities to Bombardier Recreational Products.