The Sno Coupe was an innovative, fiberglass snowmobile built in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Only around 200 of them were made, so they’re likely not commonly seen 50 years later. But the seller has managed to collect four of them and they’re for sale as a package deal (along with a trailer to carry them in). Located in Watertown, Wisconsin, this playful group is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $99,999, though the seller may consider breaking the family up. Thanks for the snowy tip, Paul S.
Mechanically a Polaris all the way, the Sno Coupe was marketed by Innovar, a custom fiberglass business out of Dunnell, Minnesota. Their advertising claimed it was “the world’s first snowmobile to feature side-by-side seating, a canopy top, and sports car styling.” They were offered between 1969-71 and used infrastructure supplied by Polaris, like the rolling chassis, engines, and all drive components. This makes finding parts today easier than it would otherwise be since Polaris is still in business.
These fun vehicles came with 30.5-inch cleated tracks for good balance. An under-hood propane heater was there to help keep you warm on cold days. Twin headlights were used for traveling at night. Here’s some of the dope on the seller’s collection, all of which have won trophies:
- 1969 Ranger; restored and blue in color
- 1969 Ranger; all original and gold in color; powered by a 488 Polaris twin
- 1969 Executive; restored and red in color
- 1970 Ranger: restored gold in color and has a 488 Polaris twin
As part of the deal, if you take it all, you’ll get a 28-foot heated trailer to haul them in (it has new wheels brakes, and tires). The seller says the trailer alone is worth $10,000 and unrestored versions of any of these snowmobiles will run you $10,000 a piece as well. You’d have to be a real snow junky to take them all unless you want to start a business of renting them out in snow country.
WOW, a truncated AMC Gremlin on skis!
Pretty funny, 8b, now I can’t NOT see a tiny Gremlin….
Ditto…thinking Gremlin then the ah ha moment…how about a Pacer…4 seats for the whole family.
Nice work, Russ! A listing that shows only photos of photos always makes me a little leary but you got them to work perfectly.
What are you waiting for Scotty? Go see your loans officer. This collection has your name all over it!
Ha! I wonder if they’d trade for my Sno Runner? For $100k I want to see actual photos, not screenshots on a camera.
Lets see, gas, propane, fire, exhaust, rollover potential, and enclosed cab that probly wont open if on its side or roof……I’ll pass
Perfect for the next ‘James Bond’ movie.
Snoway this can be real….a 4 pak ?
Let’s see, the seller wants $99k. Back out the $10k trailer and you have 4 working restored vehicles priced at $22k+ each. Are they $22k cool? The real test would be to put one up on BaT (they like never seen before stuff) and see where it lands.
Now off I go to do a deep dive on collectable snowmobiles.
Hmm thats a lot of coin, will be a stretch for 100 large. I thought the car market was going nuts. Good luck. You have to remember how old these are. As Scotty says, you need to get them working perfectly.
Cheers
GPC
Gaspumpchas, and you can bet replacement parts are readily available…
You know, it seems,,,no matter what one thinks of, someone has already done it. 1st,,,,never heard of these, and I was the BIGGEST snowmobile buff in the 60’s/70’s, cut my teeth on a ’69 Polaris Charger, of which this shares many parts.I can say, without reservation, there were better setups. I always wondered what it would be like, to be in an enclosed machine on the snow. Several obstacles quickly emerged. Fumes, no matter how directed, will seep in, handling, that bogie wheel was awful tippy, obscured vision, and most importantly, getting stuck, a regular thing, would be the end. Snowmobiling to me, is an “outdoor “sport. The rush of being on an open machine at speed, is nothing short of exhilarating. To enclose the thing, takes all the zing out,,,I think. Pretty much a “swing and a miss” in the snowmobile world.
I used to think the same thing about snowmobiles until got a Skidoo Elite in a trade in. I customer bought it that lived a couple of miles down an unplowed road. Normally he would sled out to his truck to go to work. But he bought it for his wife to take the kids out to the car for school and them pick them up later. It was MUCH better than open sledding when all you want is to get in and out comfortably. A lot easier than a Tucker Sno-cat.
I’m not sure about the these as I have never seen one before either. But it would appear that he is setting the market price for them and a collection will either buy them or not.
Doesn’t share a single part with a Polaris Charger. These were built on a Voyager chassis which Polaris was eager to get rid of since they shared nothing with any other sled they built and had virtually no buyers for.
Tucker Snow Cat had kittens . . .
I grew up in MB and snowmobiling was a lot of what I did in the winter Arctic Cat, Polaris and Yamaha were the main survivors of the snowmobile craze, I grew up with all these and have even heard of one of these?
What a cool innovative concept from an era when companies were trying cool innovative ideas to meet a growing demand of people looking to get out and enjoy “life” and in many cases being able to so affordably at various price points or levels. And I can imagine these being part of a “showcase showdown” prize on Price is Right back in the day. Fast forward 50 years and we are all stuck behind screens with dreams of getting out to enjoy “life” but sadly priced out of the markets for such items whether vintage or brand new.
They might be cool and rare but not $100k cool.
I know this is a very old post. I have pictures of me sitting in one of these outside of the brewery in Grand Marais MI about 30 years ago. Actually it was only a bar back then. The owner would not part with it. It was a gold one.