whitefox personal four-seater snowmobile

canadian company imaginactive has created a revolutionary snowmobile concept designed for adventurers with a family to take care of at weekends. its most recent vehicle is the ‘whitefox’ concept, a personal four-seater snowmobile that can cruise through mountainscapes. powered by a 165 horsepower rotax ‘850 E-TEC’ engine, it can be controlled similarly to the paddle shift of a racing car: you pull the throttle lever with your right hand fingers, and brake with a left hand lever.

all images © imaginactive / charles bombardier

imaginactive firmly believes there is a market for the ‘whitefox’ four-seat snowmobile: taking weekend trips with the family in one sled and the gear safely tucked in a trailer behind; or going for a car-like ride mid-way through a ski run, sound like truly fun ways to enjoy the winter. the quebec-based studio has the intention of fitting a variety of today’s modern comforts to the vehicle’s livery–each seat can be heated using the engine’s cooling system, while fans could also divert hot air on the riders’ legs, covered by an insulated blanket; plus it can be fitted with a built-in ski and snowboard rack bolted on top of its upper frame.

the snowmobile also features a modified power steering and can-am lineup for enhanced ergonomics. the vehicle’s body is formed of high density polyethylene, while the frame is made of lightweight aluminum. it also has the addition of pop-down wheels on the skis, to facilitate turning on hard surfaces.

charles bombardier, imaginactive CEO and ‘whitefox’ creator, exposed his prototype during the design exchange dispatch event (dx.org) in toronto, with the idea of talking about it during canada’s coldest period. he projects that the development cost will be approximately $6,000,000 plus the tooling.

ashish thulkar, a freelance vehicle designer at the indian institute of science, modified the renderings of the existing prototype add a touch of realism to the ‘whitefox’. he graduated with a master’s degree in design from the indian institute of science in 2014, and has created the ‘drone tower’ concept and the ‘tridika 3D people mover’.

source: the globe and mail canada