Snowmobile Vehicle

Today, most snowmobiles are powered by either a 4 or 2-stroke internal combustion engine. However, a electrochemical battery-powered version has been made by McGill University. The engineers/students at McGill University are also working on a hybrid version of their snowmobile.
Performance
Performance of snowmobiles has improved exponentially since their inception with a sharp spike in performance in the last 15 or so years. The first snowmobiles made way with as little as 5 horsepower engines. Engine size and efficiency has grown considerably in the last 15 years. In the early 90's, the biggest engines available (typically 600-650cc range) produced in the neighborhood of 115 hp. Today several late model snowmobiles are available with engines sizes up to 1200cc, producing 150+ hp, as well as several models with up to 1000cc engines producing closer to 180 hp. Snowmobiles are capable of moving across steep hillsides without sliding downslope if the rider transfers his weight towards the uphill side.