Models 293, 340, 395, 438, 645, 797
 

    The Blizzard for '72 was a good looking sled and the first Ski-Doo of the modern era really. Strangely it was dubbed the "coffin" up in my hometown because of the hinged removable panel in the top of the hood. This feature allowed the owner to change between two and three cylinder engines by simply changing the panel, not replacing the whole hood. White was used as a body color for the first time.

    This machine was significant because  it was the first Ski-Doo to use a front mounted engine and a jack shaft mounted driven pulley, a configuration that has endured to this day.

    Most significantly though was the introduction of the Rotax rotary valve (RV) engine.
This engine in all its combinations and permutations has been a driving force in the success of Ski-Doo as a snowmobile and the dominance of Sea-Doo in the personal water craft market. Yvon Duhamel won the 1972 Winnipeg to St. Paul on a '72 400 Blizzard.

Technical Highlights

    First use of a Rotary Valve induction system on a Ski-Doo.

    First front mounted engine in a Ski-Doo

    First jack shaft mounted driven pulley in a Ski-Doo

    First use of a hydraulic brake on a Ski-Doo.
 
 

1972 T'NT 400 *****

    The 1972 T'NT line up as a whole was rather un-inspiring. The racing heritage which began with the incredible 1968 T'NT 600 had all but been lost. The machines were steadily gaining weight, the large bore engines had disappeared, and power and reliability of the small bore engines was not the best.

    It was a pleasant surprise to all when the T'NT 400 showed up. It housed a free air, piston port twin which turned this average trail sled into a potent stock racer. This limited production gem is one of the most collectible sleds around, a real treasure.

Technical Highlights

First use of a free air engine on a consumer Ski-Doo.

First use of a handle-bar mounted kill switch on a Ski-Doo

1972 Speed Machines *****
 

    Speed runs were quickly becoming a problem (pardon the pun). The factories were spending too much money for very little return. For 1972, Ski-Doo built their strangest, and last speed machine, the Inferno.

    Powered by two 797 cc free air triples similar to the X-2R this machine was quite a different beast. Where the X-2R's twin engines were linked to the front drive axle like a conventional sled, the Inferno drove both the front and rear axles, driving the single track from both ends. This was likely the cause for the insurmountable track reliability problems the Inferno suffered.

    Gaston Ferland valiantly campaigned the machine but despite summer time testing that indicated 140mph+ speeds on snow the Inferno disintegrated tracks at speeds in excess of 100 mph. This would be the last factory sponsored speed sled produced by Ski-Doo.