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Ski-Doo Snowmobile One of the best things about MotorWeek is that if it has a motor, we want to try it, whether it has wheels or not. But we have to admit that the latest motorized ride that Steven Chupnick managed to grab a hold of has left us a bit chilly going over the edge. – John Davis
In 1959, his last go-round on that invention turned out to be his most famous. And there was no other place to be for the 50th year of the modern snowmobile than the home of BRP, Bombardier Recreational Products, and the birthplace of Joseph Armand Bombardier, Valcourt, Quebec. Because what's a day of fun in the snow without a little snowmobiling? It was definitely a way to celebrate a special anniversary for Ski-Doo, one of the greatest products ever created in the northern hemisphere.
STEVE COWING: Ski-Doo's been in the business for 50 years and invented the snowmobile in its current form; two skis in front, a track underneath you, a motor in the engine bay in front of you. So, Ski-Doo really started the trend towards a small commercialized lightweight snowmobile for recreational purposes. Going fast and having fun! That's what I'm talking about. And boy, do these machines go, reaching speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour. Always moving forward, BRP is constantly updating their technology. The newest efforts in fuel economy include a new 2-Tec with a direct fuel-injection motor.
BRP sees themselves as the BMW of snowmobiles. One of the reasons why they can say that is because of what goes on inside the closed doors of the design and innovation center. DENYS LAPOINTE: The human print is really evident. You feel, you know, you could actually sit right there. Executive Vice President of Design and Innovation, Denys Lapointe, and Ski-Doo Design Director, Jacques Mayrand, have one goal in mind…to please the consumer.
Jacques brought his automotive background to the company. He began his career designing everything from Audis to BMWs, a complete change from snowmobiles. JACQUES MAYRAND: The car is two different things; the interior, which is a world by itself, and the exterior, which is another one. Those products, they're combined, because you sit on - the exterior is the interior; you're in contact with it. So, that real strong experience, relationship with the contact of the product, it's something as then a car. BRP is also known for their other outdoor machines, including Sea-Doo watercraft and the Can-Am Spyder three-wheeler. But it doesn't stop there. The future is very bright up in Canada. DENYS LAPOINTE: It is our role to go beyond and explore the unexplored. You know, we can dream of something and eventually find the means and the technologies to make it work. It's a matter of how open we are to new ideas and how far we're willing to explore. JACQUES MAYRAND: The designer is the one that has the antenna always on, ready to capture what things are happening and transform all those things into proposal, into sketches, into images. So what would Joseph Armand Bombardier say about what is happening with the company? DENYS LAPOINTE: The spirit of his inventions is what we remind each other every day. JACQUES MAYRAND: When we felt that ooh, we have something connecting with the company, Joseph Armand Bombardier was in the mindset.
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When Joseph Armand Bombardier built his first snowmobile at age 15 he probably didn't think it would turn out like this.
From its earliest concepts to today's modern looks, the snowmobile has helped save lives, as well as become the ultimate machine for the adrenaline junkie.
The 4-Tec adds a 1200 cc Rotax inline 3-cylinder engine, and the new E-Tec, built for maximum fuel efficiency, uses a 600 cc Rotax.
DENYS LAPOINTE: We try to capture all of the unspoken needs and the real needs of these potential customers. Once we've highlighted this, we come up with a design vision that summarizes using images of different things to highlight what is the kind of emotion, what is the kind of architecture that this person would enjoy.