The annals of history are littered with wild vehicular creations that never caught on. From flying motorcycles to 8x8 swamp rats to GM's original EV and so on, there's just about something for everyone, and something that beggars belief when you start to dig into its history.
One such thing came across my timeline the other night as I went through my normal, everyday 2 am doomscroll, and that's the absolutely wacky and wild Ski-Doo Elite. Which, as you can see in the video above, doesn't follow Ski-Doo's traditional snowmobile lineup. Rather, it's a side-by-side not with tracks, as is now common, but a side-by-side complete with two snowmobile tracks and skis up front.
What's more wild when I started digging into the model, which was a single-year-only affair, this setup wasn't the first time Ski-Doo attempted it. In fact, the Ski-Doo Elite has a long history of failing to capture the public's interest at the time, only to become a cult favorite in its afterlife.
The Ski-Doo Elite you see in the video above is when the company revived the nameplate in 2004. Powered by a 1.5-liter Rotax 4-Tec3-cylinder engine, it powered twin 136-inch x 30-inch rear tracks, and sat beneath a side-by-side cage complete with roof and windshield. Twin skis at the front steered the machine, while two people sat side-by-side inside the cabin, with the driver controlling an aviation-style yoke that was also heated.
Basically, it was a lowered side-by-side with two snowmobiles underneath it, and advertised as a more comfortable backcountry snowmobile experience. It was, as I mentioned however, critically and commercially panned by the public and was a one-year-only affair. Not too long after, side-by-sides became more ubiquitous, and so did switching from off-road wheels to tracks to brave long and hard winter conditions, thus making singular machines like the Elite, obsolete.
But Ski-Doo's Elite goes back way further than 2004, as the model was actually originally introduced in 1973 and produced until the mid 1980s. Those models followed a similar design as the 2004 edition, though with one less track, and no safety to speak of. I mean, most folks were drunk all the time back then, so crashing was probably OK given they were already loose.
The vibes of those original Ski-Doo Elites, however, are top tier, as you can just smell the cigarettes and polyester jumpsuits. Honestly, I'm surprised the interior isn't full shag carpeting, though someone somewhere has to have built one with it.
As for future models, I doubt we'd ever see the Elite's return. Side-by-sides with aftermarket tracks are just too easy and make too much sense for something that's so singular to ever return. Plus, these have HVAC controls. Why would you give up the warmth and comfort of those, and something less capable than a standard snowmobile? I wouldn't, but damn, were these pretty cool for the time.
