I’m pretty sure something important just happened in the sno-mo-biz and a bunch of people – media included – completely missed it! What happened you ask? The race to produce the “Spark” snowmobile just heated up – and did it in a pretty big way.

WHAT IS A SPARK?

Spark is the model designation for Sea-Doo’s most popular PWC ever. In fact the largest selling product BRP manufactures is the Spark PWC. It sells huge because when it came to the market three seasons ago, BRP offered it at the mind-boggling MSRP of $4,995.00 USD.

BRP CEO Jose Boisjolis’ genius was to take the popularity of riding and owning a PWC back to the level it crested at in the late 1990s. His call was to bring a fully capable, fun and unapologetically, real PWC to the market and thereby re-energize the PWC biz. By the way, it worked.

IS THERE A SPARK SNOWMOBILE?

Yes, we believe there are three to choose from and the Spark paradigm is rapidly becoming a legitimate segment. Admittedly, we are never going to see a Spark snowmobile with an MSRP of $4,995.00 US. Why? Because snowmobiles are far more costly to manufacture than PWCs.

Snowmobiles have wheels, brakes, transmissions, shocks, suspension systems, lighting systems and tracks. PWCs are essentially two injection-molded pieces of plastic powered by a 4-stroke engine connected to a sump pump.

WHAT’S THE RIGHT PRICE?

I’m not 100-percent sure what the right price is but I am positive what the right sled is. The Spark goal line will be reached when a value sled is fully capable of running with full-on snowmobiles in the 600 segment.

Before Ski-Doo introduced the Sport 600 a few weeks back, there was Polaris’ first-in (two seasons ago) Indy EVO 550 fan and earlier this winter Arctic Cat landed the ZR BLAST 400 EFI. Most recently Yamaha unveiled its version of the BLAST, coined the SX Venom.

Here’s what the MSRPs look like for the Sport and the BLAST in the US and Canada:

BLAST (65-hp 2-Stroke Single)
USA – $7,695
CDN – $10,095

MXZ SPORT (85 HP 600CC 2-Stroke Twin)
USA – $8,649
CDN – $9,999

REALITY CHECK

I won’t comment on these numbers other than to say, go and check out the new Ski-Doo Sport MX-Z. At $8,649.00 USD and $9,999.00 CDN there is a ton of value – and just as importantly – a ton of performance offered for this kind of jing.

I can tell you from firsthand experience the new Sport MX-Z with an EFI 600 Rotax twin under its hood producing 85-hp delivers a genuinely legitimate snowmobile experience. Don’t think about 4-stroke power – think about lightweight 2-stroke power. Think about advanced G4 chassis, bodywork and ergonomics. Think about a full size snowmobile a guy can ride and not be left in the snow dust by his buds. Think about a brand new, warrantied 600cc snowmobile for the price highlighted above.

DID YOU FEEL THE EARTH MOVE?

It’s entirely possible the market leader, using its enormous economies of scale, has actually delivered the Spark snowmobile. When Spring Break orders are counted, the Sport 600 MX-Z may be an eye opener.

We can’t help but think the decade from 2000 to 2010 brought about the greatest changes in the snowmobile industry and was the most revolutionary time span in snowmobiling’s history. This series explores some of the most revolutionary advancements this sport has ever seen…

CROSSOVER EVOLUTION

Let’s say it this way: As we move further into the future the average snowmobiler wants his or her snowmobile to do more than just one thing.

The roots of this mindset go back to the early part of the Golden Decade. Ski-Doo introduced the ZX-based Renegade in MY 2000. Soon, all the OEMs began upping track lengths and delivering sleds with 133, 137 and even 141-inch tracks.

Back in the day crossovers were pretty bland rides with usually nothing more than a 137-inch track with (sometimes) a slightly deeper lug. Most buyers believed these longer track variants couldn’t handle as well as their trail-based 121s.

Later in the decade, the definitive crossover snowmobile continued to develop and change. Mountain handlebars, bar risers, altered ski-stances, deeper lugs and specialized skis for better flotation began to appear.

As snowmobiles continued to change during this period the emergence of the purpose-built, zero compromise mountain specific snowmobile became cemented in the product profile of every OEM.

Today, the definitive crossover is still very much in flux – so much so that in MY 2020 most OEMs offer two (or more) different executions of the genre. There are now trail biased Crossovers and off- trail biased variants.

Like it or not, the crossover genre was born in the Golden Decade. Necessity is the mother of invention and the crossover personifies this credo.

Remember this: As it was in the Golden Decade, so it is today. Snowmobilers want their sleds to do more than just one thing!

We can’t help but think the decade from 2000 to 2010 brought about the greatest changes in the snowmobile industry and was the most revolutionary time span in snowmobiling’s history. This series explores some of the most revolutionary advancements this sport has ever seen…

THE POLARIS RUSH

The RUSH, with its Pro-Ride external shock back end, gets its own category for the Golden Age because it, like the original REV, established a benchmark in the industry.

In late 2009, the RUSH concept shifted the paradigm that had long-since established a snowmobile should be built a certain way, with a shock or two inside the skid. Up to this point, it had looked like there was just no other way to build a snowmobile.

The Pro-Ride external shock rear suspension twisted everyone’s sensibilities upon its arrival. The concept boldly claimed the set-up was virtually impossible to bottom and delivered true rising rate movement.

As it turns out, a rising rate response to bumps is not always the best response unless you’re a certified ditch banger. Nonetheless, the Pro-Ride suspension and the RUSH’s unique, indestructible cast aluminum bulkhead assembled – using of all things – glue, and over-arching mid-chassis design brought the focus back to Polaris in the Golden Decade.

Polaris proved you could be successful with a non-conventional chassis and yet still deliver the goods snowmobilers want.

We can’t help but think the decade from 2000 to 2010 brought about the greatest changes in the snowmobile industry and was the most revolutionary time span in snowmobiling’s history. This series explores some of the most revolutionary advancements this sport has ever seen…

PRODUCTION TURBOCHARGING

We want to specifically drill down on turbocharging as a key marker in the direction the biz shifted in the Golden Decade.

Arctic Cat was first to turbocharge a production snowmobile – the T-660 Turbo in 2004. It produced 110 ponies from a miniscule, Suzuki-built 3-cylinder car engine. Packaging issues had the turbo located up high behind the windshield where it glowed bright red on long pulls up Kevlar Lake.

The engine demonstrated profound turbo lag. Despite this challenge the 660 was a riot to ride. The surge of power the engine generated when the turbo slapped the little 660 in the face with almost 20 pounds of boost was heroic.

Not to be outdone, Polaris added a turbo to its Weber-built, even firing 750 twin in 2005 and came up with a really fast IQ that debuted “overboost” technology to achieve what was a rumored 140-hp. While the initial intro of the Weber turbo experienced reliability issues, ultimately the sled was debugged, and many are still in service.

Arctic Cat also landed the now legendary F-1100 turbo powerplant late in the Golden Decade and it became the benchmark for all-out snowmobile horsepower and top end speed.

These three sleds opened the door on factory turbocharging and, as we all know, the rest is history.