Ski-Doo is a brand name of

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

manufactured by

Bombardier Recreational Products BRP Inc. is the holding company for Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., operating as BRP, a Canadian manufacturer of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, side by sides, motorcycles, and personal watercraft. It was founded in 2003, when the Recr ...

(originally Bombardier Inc. before the spin-off). The Ski-Doo personal snowmobile brand is so iconic, especially in Canada, that it was listed in 17th place on the CBC's

The Greatest Canadian Invention ''The Greatest Canadian Invention'' is a television mini-series originally aired on CBC Television. It is a spiritual sequel to ''The Greatest Canadian''. It began with people voting online which invention (out of 50) they considered the greate ...

list in 2007. Ski-Doo also has its own range of

snowmobile suit A snowmobile suit is a suit designed to be worn when riding a snowmobile. It is often similar to a one-piece snowsuit but specially made to not just insulate against snow and water but also to protect the rider from the wind while riding. The des ...

History

The first ever Ski-Doo was launched in 1959 as a new invention created by

Joseph-Armand Bombardier Joseph-Armand Bombardier (; April 16, 1907 – February 18, 1964) was a Canadian inventor and businessman who was the founder of Bombardier. His most famous invention was the snowmobile. Biography Born in Valcourt, Quebec, Joseph-Armand Bombar ...

. The original name was ''Ski-Dog'', but a

typographical error A typographical error (often shortened to typo), also called a misprint, is a mistake (such as a spelling mistake) made in the typing of printed (or electronic) material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual type-setting (typography). ...

in a Bombardier brochure changed the name Ski-Dog to Ski-Doo. The first Ski-Doos found customers with

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

prospectors Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by Mining engineering#Pre-mining, exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking. ...

land surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

s and others who need to travel in snowy, remote areas. The largest success for the snowmobile came from sport enthusiasts, a market that opened the door to massive production of snowmobiles. This popularity led to ''skidoo'' (sometimes ''ski-doo''), with the derived verb ''skidooing'' (or ''ski-dooing''), becoming the traditional generic term for snowmobile in much of Canada. In 1967 and 1968, Ski-Doos were used on the first indisputed overland expedition to reach the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

, lead by

Ralph Plaisted Ralph Summers Plaisted (September 30, 1927 – September 8, 2008) was an American explorer who, with his three companions, Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl and Jean-Luc Bombardier, are regarded by most polar authorities to be the first to succeed in a s ...

and including Bombardier's own

Jean-Luc Bombardier Jean-Luc may refer to: In politics: * Jean-Luc Bennahmias (born 1954), a French politician and Member of the European Parliament * Jean-Luc Dehaene (1940–2014), a Flemish politician * Jean-Luc Laurent (born 1957), a French politician * Jean-Luc ...

, reaching the pole on 19 April 1968. In early 2016, Ski-Doo announced that they were releasing an all-new line of engine/chassis fusion snowmobiles, most of which would be sporting

two-stroke engines A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

with 800cc motors that were specifically designed for the newer snowmobiles. The company then announced that their new line of

model year The model year (sometimes abbreviated "MY") is a method of describing the version of a product which has been produced over multiple years. The model year may or may not be the same as the calendar year in which the product was manufactured. ...

2017 snowmobiles would feature an 850cc motor known as the Rotax 850 E-Tec. The motor was redesigned with a new chassis, making the snowmobile both more agile and more responsive. Ski-Doo named this newer chassis/motor combination "Gen-4" and released it in several different models, such as the Summit, MXZ, and Renegade.

References

External links

{{wiktionary, Skidoo
Ski-Doo Forums
* Ski-Doo.com
Ski-Doo Snowmobile model history
Bombardier Recreational Products Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1959 Snowmobile brands Tracked vehicles Vehicles introduced in 1959 1959 in Quebec