The Best Looking Snowmobiles of All Time

What is the best-looking snowmobile of all time?

That simple question became the subject of an intense debate among snowmobiling friends one day in Wisconsin. So much so that one of the debaters – TA Motorsports dealership owner and sledding super-enthusiast Rich Rothmund – called to try to draw us into the argument.

We refused to step directly onto the landmine. But we loved the concept, and soon Rich had talked us into this story. So, we reached out to some non-partisan, high-profile collectors and historians in the snowmobile market to get their nominations.

It seemed like a simple enough task, until we started digging into the minutia. We’re talking about a recreational sport with a long and colorful history that at one point in the 1970s featured more than 300 identified brands. Picking 10 brands would have been difficult, but 10 individual machines by make, model and year? That’s quite an ominous task.

Another challenge was determining whether exotic race machines should be considered. But how would one rate Ski-Doo’s Karpik Special, Gilles Villeneuve’s twin-tracked Alouette and various brands’ Sno Pro race sleds against consumer-focused, mass-productions Panthers, XLTs and SRXes, for example?

So, we set the following ground rules:

• Nominated sleds needed to be full-production, consumer-available machines, not one-off race sleds or odd, experimental stuff that wasn’t readily available to Joe or Jane Snowmobiler.
• Sleds were to be judged entirely on visual appearance. “The nominated sled’s historical significance, handling prowess, performance, etc., are not to be factors,” we told our judges before getting somewhat crass to drive home the point. “We’re asking you to be stereotypical shallow males here – her personality and intelligence don’t matter in this contest, it’s all about how she fills out the dress, so to speak!”

We asked judges to give us their 10 best. Not surprising, our own snowmobile historian and Flashback columnist David Wells far overdelivered when he replied to our email query in less than an hour with a well-thought-out list of more than 25 sleds, with subcategories adding even more machines! Midwest Ride-In co-founder John Zeglin responded next, and his list topped 30 sleds.

“Guys: We need 10, we’re not publishing a novel here!” we replied. “We need your help narrowing the list, not expanding it.”

Several well-known collectors chose not to participate – with one in particular saying it would be akin to publicly choosing one of your children as your favorite! We get it. But in the end, when we tallied the “votes” of those brave enough to respond, some key models stood out.

The Best Of The Best

Clearly our judges don’t all like to follow rules! Some competition sleds and rare/unique one-offs snuck onto the lists, historical significance seemed to influence some voters, and several folks named more than 10. We edited aggressively. Most panelists said their lists were not in any specific order, though a few did share absolute favorites.

Sleds nominated varied in model year from 1926 to 2025. But when they were all tabulated, a few beauty queens stood out.

Overall, the winner was the 1974 Ski-Doo T’NT RV 245. This low-slung treasure with its flowing lines and stark paintjob was named by six of our eight official voters, making it the most nominated individual sled.

Two other commonly nominated sleds were the Yamaha SRX (seven total votes) and the Rupp Nitro (five total votes), though they varied by model year. Given its shorter run, Nitro votes ranged from 1972 to 1975 and at least shared a relatively common look. But the SRX votes varied from 1976 to 2025, with many different chassis.

Other oft-mentioned machines include Polaris TX and Arctic Cat El Tigré models of varying years, the 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder and the 1974-75 Sno Jet Thunder Jet.

Enough of our blathering: Let’s get to the official judges. We’ve included some key photos: With Google, you’ll be able to see the rest.

John Zeglin

Credentials: Longtime rider and vintage enthusiast, co-founder of the Midwest Ride-In (a.k.a. “Waconia”) vintage event, 2013 inductee into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame

1. 1975 Ski-Doo T’NT 245 RV
2. 1978 Polaris TX
3. 1974 Sno Jet Thunder Jet 340
4. 1980 Yamaha SRX 440
5. 1973 Ski-Doo T’NT F/A
6. 1972 Rupp Nitro
7. 1978 Arctic Cat El Tigré
8. 1974 Roll-O-Flex Wild One F/A
9. 1985 Polaris Indy 600 SE
10. 1977 Scorpion Sting

John Zeglin said the 1975 Ski-Doo T’NT RV was “easily No. 1 on my list,” and when the votes were tallied it finished on top overall. The image above was from our visit to the Ski-Doo Design Center in Valcourt, Quebec, in 2019.

Rich Rothmund

Credentials: Owner of TA Motorsports in Francis Creek, Wisconsin, lifelong enthusiast, the originator of the story concept.

1. 1975 Rupp Nitro II 440
2. 1976 Yamaha SRX (the Canadian version with black graphics)
3. 1972-73 Arctic Cat EXT
4. 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder
5. 1973 Moto-Ski S 440
6. 1976 Polaris TX (all engine sizes)
7. 1974 Arctic Cat El Tigré
8. 1974 Sno Jet Thunder Jet 340
9. 1975 Ski-Doo T’NT RV 245
10. 1975 Mercury Sno Twister

The man who started this story concept would have loved the gathering of Rupp Nitros (above) at the 2022 Midwest Ride-In.

David Wells

Credentials: 50-year snowmobile journalist and historian, longtime Snow Goer Flashback/Timeline author, inducted into the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame in 2015.

1. 1981 & 1984 El Tigré 6000
2. 1981 Arctic Cat El Tigré 5000
3. 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder
4. 1977-78 Scorpion Whip (without graphics)
5. 1981 Yamaha SRX
6. 1971 Arctic Cat King Cat 800
7. 1973 Rupp Nitro
8. 1988 Polaris Indy 650
9. 1990 Polaris Indy 500 Classic
10. 1992 Ski-Doo Safari LC E

Wells said, “I’d give the 1984 Arctic Cat El Tigré 6000 a slight edge over the very similar 1981 version because I like the subtle addition of gold striping on the ’84.”

Wayne Davis

Credentials: Longtime photographer/owner of Wayne Davis Photography, former racer, avid enthusiast, 2011 inductee into the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame.

1. 1971 Polaris TX
2. 1975 Rupp Nitro F/A
3. 1972 Chaparral Firebird SSX
4. 1993 Arctic Cat ZR 580
5. 2022 Ski-Doo Mach Z
6. 1979 Polaris Centurion
7. 1992 Yamaha Vmax 4
8. 1980 Yamaha SRX
9. 2006 Ski-Doo MX Z X 800 H.O.
10. 2025 Yamaha Sidewinder SRX LE

Wayne has taken action photos of pretty much every snowmobile built in the last 40-plus years, but we turned the camera around and snapped a picture of him saying goodbye to the last-generation 2025 Yamaha Sidewinder SRX LE.

The 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder on Charlie’s list was a very close relative to the El Tigré 6000 at the top of David Wells’ list.

Charlie Vallier

Credentials: Lifelong enthusiast and longtime collector, co-founder/director of the Top Of The Lake Snowmobile Museum, 2021 inductee into the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame

1. 1976 Rupp Rally 440
2. 1979 Yamaha Excel V
3. 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder
4. 1977 Arctic Cat Panther
5. 1974 Ski-Doo Nordic
6. 1987 Arctic Cat Pantera
7. 1975 Ski-Doo T’NT RV
8. 1976 Viking 340SS
9. 1965 Ski-Doo
10. 1982 John Deere Trailfire

Jeff Oberg

Credentials: Longtime contributor and test rider for Snow Goer, snowmobile collector.

1. 1975 Sno Jet Thunder Jet
2. 1981 Yamaha SRX 440
3. 1987 Yamaha Vmax
4. 1973-74 Rupp Nitro 440
5. 1993 Polaris Indy XLT
6. 2006 Arctic Cat F7 (in orange)
7. 2018 Polaris 800 Rush with Founders Edition graphics
8. 1972 Arctic Cat Kitty Cat
9. 1998 Polaris XCR 440
10. 1975 Ski-Doo T’NT RV

Oddly, we captured two of Oberg’s top selections at once at a St. Stephens River Runners vintage event. The 1981 SRX (right) is right on the nose. The tag on the Sno Jet Thunder Jet next to it says it’s a 1974, but it’s been modified to look like the 1975.

Paul was one of our rule breakers, but who are we to scold this true Hall of Famer? Pictured above is a 1969 Arctic Cat Panther from his collection, complete with Montana pipes. Forever the historian, Crane also nominated some rear engine buggies, including this 1963 Kellet Blue Goose (below), a one-year wonder made by the Kellet Aircraft Corporation out of Pennsylvania. Both photos submitted by Crane.

Paul Crane

Credentials: His snowmobiling history dates to 1959, avid collector and owner of Crane’s Snowmobile Museum in New Hampshire, 2015 inductee into International Snowmobile Hall of Fame

1. 1969 Arctic Cat Panther
2. 1972 Sear Roebuck Sportster 432 (made by Polaris)
3. 1966 Skiroule
4. 1969 Polaris Mustang (with Wankel engine)
5. 1969 Sno Coupe
6. 1963 Kellet Blue Goose
7. 1960-64 Boggana
8. 1926 Ford Model T
9. 1964 Polaris Sno-Traveler
10. 1966-67 Scatmobile

Valdi Stefanson

Credentials: Vintage super-enthusiast, contributing writer, historian and video host, including Valdi’s Old Snowmobile Information Factory on YouTube.

1. 1975 Ski-Doo T’NT 245 RV
2. 1974 Skiroule Laser
3. 1976 Alouette Super Brute
4. 1974 Roll-O-Flex Wild One
5. 1976-77 Yamaha SRX
6. 1969 Yamaha SL 351
7. 1985-86 Polaris Indy 600
8. 2003 FAST Blade HPO
9. 1963-66 Arctic Cat Model 100
10. 1967 Larson Eagle

The eclectic Valdi tried to slip a specialty Alouette Villian (top) and a Redline Revolt onto his list – neither was a mass production sled. But we let him get away with his beloved Roll-O-Flex Wild One (directly above).