Wells said , “ I ’ d give the 1984 Arctic Cat El Tigré 6000 a slight edge over the very similar 1981 version because I like the subtle addition of gold striping on the ’ 84 .”
David Wells
Credentials : 50-year snowmobile journalist and historian , longtime Snow Goer Flashback / Timeline author , inducted into the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame in 2015 .
1 . 1981 & 1984 El Tigré 6000 2 . 1981 Arctic Cat El Tigré 5000 3 . 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder 4 . 1977-78 Scorpion Whip ( without graphics ) 5 . 1981 Yamaha SRX 6 . 1971 Arctic Cat King Cat 800 7 . 1973 Rupp Nitro 8 . 1988 Polaris Indy 650 9 . 1990 Polaris Indy 500 Classic 10 . 1992 Ski-Doo Safari LC E
The 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder on Charlie ’ s list was a very close relative to the El Tigré 6000 at the top of David Wells ’ list .
Charlie Vallier
Credentials : Lifelong enthusiast and longtime collector , co-founder / director of the Top Of The Lake Snowmobile Museum , 2021 inductee into the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame
1 . 1976 Rupp Rally 440 2 . 1979 Yamaha Excel V 3 . 1981 Scorpion Sidewinder 4 . 1977 Arctic Cat Panther 5 . 1974 Ski-Doo Nordic 6 . 1987 Arctic Cat Pantera 7 . 1975 Ski-Doo T ’ NT RV 8 . 1976 Viking 340SS 9 . 1965 Ski-Doo 10 . 1982 John Deere Trailfire
Wayne Davis
Credentials : Longtime photographer / owner of Wayne Davis Photography , former racer , avid enthusiast , 2011 inductee into the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame .
1 . 1971 Polaris TX 2 . 1975 Rupp Nitro F / A 3 . 1972 Chaparral Firebird SSX 4 . 1993 Arctic Cat ZR 580 5 . 2022 Ski-Doo Mach Z 6 . 1979 Polaris Centurion 7 . 1992 Yamaha Vmax 4 8 . 1980 Yamaha SRX 9 . 2006 Ski-Doo MX Z X 800 H . O . 10 . 2025 Yamaha Sidewinder SRX LE
Wayne has taken action photos of pretty much every snowmobile built in the last 40-plus years , but we turned the camera around and snapped a picture of him saying goodbye to the last-generation 2025 Yamaha Sidewinder SRX LE .
J e ffO b e r g
Credentials : Longtime contributor and test rider for Snow Goer , snowmobile collector .
1 . 1975 Sno Jet Thunder Jet 2 . 1981 Yamaha SRX 440 3 . 1987 Yamaha Vmax 4 . 1973-74 Rupp Nitro 440 5 . 1993 Polaris Indy XLT 6 . 2006 Arctic Cat F7 ( in orange ) 7 . 2018 Polaris 800 Rush with Founders
Edition graphics 8 . 1972 Arctic Cat Kitty Cat 9 . 1998 Polaris XCR 440 10 . 1975 Ski-Doo T ’ NT RV
Oddly , we captured two of Oberg ’ s top selections at once at a St . Stephens River Runners vintage event . The 1981 SRX ( right ) is right on the nose . The tag on the Sno Jet Thunder Jet next to it says it ’ s a 1974 , but it ’ s been modified to look like the 1975 .
38 / FEBRUARY 2025 / SNOWGOER . COM