The world of snowmobiles have largely gone unchanged for some time now. Sure some are more powerful than others, or have different features, but all of them are essentially built on the same frame. Well that could all potentially change thanks to this awesome new snowmobile concept from Michal Bonikowski.
Michal Bonikowski, from the design firm Mind Sailors, is an award winning and respected industrial designer from Poland who came up with this awesome concept. While a snowmobile is typically considered a recreational vehicle, for many people they are an extremely viable mode of transportation. People that live in Alaska, Norway, upper-Canada, and pretty much anywhere else that it snows a lot, the snowmobile offers the best means of transportation in the winter. The problem is that you are still exposed to the elements, and this concept solves that with its enclosed cabin. It also looks pretty awesome; it could essentially be the Ferrari of the snowmobile industry.
Aside from looking cool, the benefits of a snowmobile-like vehicle with an enclosed cockpit are pretty great, especially in environments where the temperature drops into the negatives. The vehicle certainly looks very futuristic, and the concept has many forward thinking ideas as well. Unlike other snowmobiles that use two or four-stroke combustion engines, this vehicle called the “Snow Crawler” has also been designed to use an all electric motor. So this vehicle will also be very environmentally friendly. However I can see a downside to an electric engine. Say you are traveling in this vehicle and run out of power in a frigid and remote environment. While someone could theoretically come and bring you fuel if you had a regular snowmobile, they will not be able to do that with an electric-powered vehicle. Still the Snow Crawler is pretty impressive.
It would be great to see this concept vehicle be made into a working machine. The Snow Crawler would offer those living in cold and snowy environments a superior mode of transportation. While there aren’t too many details yet, as it is still just a concept, I would imagine that if this were to be built that it would be one of the more expensive snowmobiles on the market. But that’s what you get for luxury.
Photos from MindSailors.com
