Snowmobiles
Clarkson University (New York) was the overall winner in the 2011 Clean Snowmobile Challenge, a collegiate design competition put on by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and hosted by Michigan Technological University. This year’s competition was billed as “the greenest yet,” with a record number of electric snowmobiles participating. The event was held March 7-12 at MTU’s Keweenaw Research Center in Houghton, Michigan. 17 student teams competed in the zero emissions and internal combustion categories. Read More
As winter continues its icy grip on the northern reaches of the planet, cabin fever may cause some of us to rethink our policy of staying indoors until spring. If you don’t live near the mountains, however, many of the winter outdoor activities available to you might seem kind of ... tame. Some people buy snowmobiles, although such vehicles require a truck or trailer for transportation, can be expensive, and are generally “more machine” than a lot of people want. Such individuals might instead be interested in the Skizee – a powered tread that pushes skiers across the snow at speeds of up to 35 kph (22 mph). Read More
If you like the idea of zipping across the landscape on a stand-up tracked vehicle, but find the likes of the DTV Shredder and Scarpar just a little too intimidating, then you might like the Mattracks Powerboard. Designed specifically for use on snow, the device features one continuous snowmobile-type rubber track on the bottom, that is powered by a mid-mounted 200CC 4-cycle gas engine. Delivering a top speed of 18mph (29kph), this thing probably isn’t going to be appearing in any sports drink ads anytime soon, but it still looks like it could be fun. Read More
We've seen this approach to Arctic off-roading at a concept level, but this snow-eating Subaru WRX STI is most definitely for real. The 400bhp TRAX was built by Subaru Rally Team USA's technical partner, Vermont SportsCar from a rally-prepared 2009 WRX ST. EXE-TC Group N competition rally dampers were added, the drivetrain lowered three inches and the wheels tossed in favor of a Mattracks rubber track system. Read More
With arctic conditions bringing the entire United Kingdom to a halt, the staff at Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire decided to employ Podzilla, the racetrack's 1200 bhp Monster Truck, to travel the otherwise inaccessible 180 acre grounds. With a fuel consumption of 15 gallons per mile (that's not a misprint), Podzilla isn't exactly practical winter transport, but it is a lot of fun in the snow and the six foot tall tires get traction everywhere. Read More
This looks like serious winter fun. What if you could ride your high-performance, lightweight dirtbike in the snow? Imagine throwing huge snowy rooster tails, wheelieing across snow-covered fields, carving corners through the powder and cranking your bike down to elbow-dragging lean angles - all the while knowing that if you overcook it, you'll fall into a nice soft pile of the white fluffy stuff. The US$4250 2moto snowbike kit is a bolt-on mod that takes about 2 hours to fit to a range of common dirtbikes. In place of the front wheel, you get a tough, flexible ski on the end of your forks. At the rear end, you swap your swingarm, wheel and suspension out for a thin paddle track drive unit - and voila! You've got half a snowmobile, except it leans over in the turns and looks like a helluva lot more fun. Read More
May 15, 2007 Here's an extreme sport that's been developing quietly behind our backs for 30 years now. Snowmobile fanatics around the world are lightly modifying their high-powered vehicles for frenzied "Watercross" races on lakes in the summertime. The massive machines buck, jump and wheelie their way to ferocious 60mph top speeds, and are as physical to ride and turn as a motocross bike. Game on! Read More
August 11, 2006 In the beginning, snowmobile helmets were motorcycle helmets, often failing to meet the injury protection standards of the day, and invariably quite unsuitable for the severe winter conditions encountered snowmobiling. In addition to the extreme windchill factor, the most pressing problem with adapting a motorcycle helmet to snowmobiling is the fogging of the visor, which caused many a heart palpitation as riders attempted to lift the visor to defog it or risked the inevitable of riding with partially obscured vision in what is essentially a sight-response sport. Bombardier Recreational Products has been working in the recreational product field for a long time now and in recent times its inspired recreational machine concepts for 2025 have been a huge hit with Gizmag fans, most notably in the form of the Embrio One-Wheel Concept and recreational watercraft. The BV2S is a helmet system designed to offer an improved experience when riding a snowmobile and represents the best effort so far to tackle the issues of breathing out and maintaining a crystal clear visor. Read More
