“ Guys : We need 10 , we ’ re not publishing a novel here !” we replied . “ We need your help narrowing the list , not expanding it .”
Several well-known collectors chose not to participate – with one in particular saying it would be akin to publicly choosing one of your children as your favorite ! We get it . But in the end , when we tallied the “ votes ” of those brave enough to respond , some key models stood out .
The Best Of The Best
Clearly our judges don ’ t all like to follow rules ! Some competition sleds and rare / unique one-offs snuck onto the lists , historical significance seemed to influence some voters , and several folks named more than 10 . We edited aggressively . Most panelists said their lists were not in any specific order , though a few did share absolute favorites .
Sleds nominated varied in model year from 1926 to 2025 . But when they were all tabulated , a few beauty queens stood out .
Overall , the winner was the 1974 Ski-Doo T ’ NT RV 245 . This low-slung treasure with its flowing lines and stark paintjob was named by six of our eight official voters , making it the most nominated individual sled .
Two other commonly nominated sleds were the Yamaha SRX ( seven total votes ) and the Rupp Nitro ( five total votes ), though they varied by model year . Given its shorter run , Nitro votes ranged from 1972 to 1975 and at least shared a relatively common look . But the SRX votes varied from 1976 to 2025 , with many different chassis .
Other oft-mentioned machines include Polaris TX and Arctic Cat El Tigré models of varying years , the 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder and the 1974-75 Sno Jet Thunder Jet .
Enough of our blathering : Let ’ s get to the official judges . We ’ ve included some key photos : With Google , you ’ ll be able to see the rest .
Rich Rothmund
Credentials : Owner of TA Motorsports in Francis Creek , Wisconsin , lifelong enthusiast , the originator of the story concept .
1 . 1975 Rupp Nitro II 440 2 . 1976 Yamaha SRX ( the Canadian version with black graphics ) 3 . 1972-73 Arctic Cat EXT 4 . 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder 5 . 1973 Moto-Ski S 440 6 . 1976 Polaris TX ( all engine sizes ) 7 . 1974 Arctic Cat El Tigré 8 . 1974 Sno Jet Thunder Jet 340 9 . 1975 Ski-Doo T ’ NT RV 245 10 . 1975 Mercury Sno Twister
The man who started this story concept would have loved the gathering of Rupp Nitros ( above ) at the 2022 Midwest Ride-In .
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