The 1970 Ski-Doo Nordic snowmobile was advertised as the sled “for the man who wanted luxury.” With a starting price of $1045 for the 399 Nordic, the cost was still a little less than the 399 T’NT designed for the “man who loved to race.”

One of the innovations Ski-Doo introduced on the 1970 Nordic was the polycarbonate hoods, instead of the traditional fiberglass.  All of the Nordic line had 18 inch tracks, were 98 inches long and 35 inches wide.

Already proven in popularity, the success of the Nordic series led to the 1970 introduction of the 35 horsepower Nordic 640E (shown below). The original 371E model was upgraded in 1970 to the 399E. Even with electric start, the Nordic sleds were relatively light, with the 399 weighing in at 360 pounds and the 640 ninety pounds heavier at 430.

For the Bombardier company, 1970 marked the purchase of the Austrian plant that had supplied its engines since 1962 — Rotax-Werk AG, which was renamed Bombardier-Rotax GmbH.

Photo credit: Photo taken by Linda Aksomitis at the 6th Annual Vintage Round-Up in West Yellowstone in March, 2009.

References:

Bombardier Inc, & Fondation J. Armand Bombardier. (1999). Ski-Doo, as long as there’s winter–. [Valcourt, Quebec]: Fondation J. Armand Bombardier.