Like the trail bike rider, the driver of a traditional snowmobile is all but oblivious to the guttural whine of their machine. For those in the immediate vicinity, the noise is often an unwelcome intrusion into a pristine landscape, be it snowy hills or old growth forests.
The new Vidde Alfa Snowmobile aims to banish the vehicle’s reputation for scene-shattering noise without compromising the qualities a true all-weather snowmobile possesses. That means true reliability, even in proper Arctic conditions, with power and performance to get you out of every situation and never let you down.
Vidde Alfa electric snowmobile is cleaner and quieter
Vidde was founded by Christian Lystrup in 2021 with the ambition to kill the emissions generated by this ever-popular (and often entirely essential) mode of transport. Pointing out that there are over ten million ‘terrain vehicles’ operating around the world, Vidde estimates the sector generates around 30 megatons of CO2 each year – ‘over two-thirds of the total emissions produced by the entire country of Sweden’.
To shape their very first product, Lystrup and the Vidde team turned to Italian design consultancy Pininfarina. The end result is the Vidde Alfa, the pre-series version of what Vidde hopes will be a mass-produced model from 2025. Key design decisions include a special battery heating system to preserve range and the life of the battery.
‘This system makes it possible to operate in cold climate conditions as low as -39° Celsius,’ the company says. ‘For users such as the Icehotel and others in the Arctic climate, these temperatures are a reality, and the importance of meeting that demand has been a focus for Vidde since the beginning.’
Pininfarina has given the Vidde Alfa a sleek, high-tech appearance, with grab handles picked out in bold orange paint, and runners and treads finished in industrial black. One key consideration is longevity. ‘Putting a vehicle into the market today also means taking responsibility for the product as it goes out of life in five, ten or 15 years from now,’ says Kristine Lium, head of Design and Sustainability at Vidde. ‘We need to make sure that our snowmobiles are designed to be part of our future.’
For Xavier Blanc Baudriller, VP Experience Design at Pininfarina, the project was unique for the consultancy. ‘It’s not only looking to solve what is right in front of us now,’ he says. ‘The big focus is to create a solution that meets the needs of the customers tomorrow as well as today.’
For Lystrup, transforming an archetype that was originally designed around the internal combustion engine has resulted in many technical and engineering challenges to overcome. With luck, the slopes and snowy paths of the future will be cleaner and quieter. ‘We are very excited to finally launch our first product,’ Lystrup says. ‘Now it’s time to get it into the field and start testing it in real conditions and situations.’
Vidde Alfa pre-series production, from €26,200, Vidde Mobility, ViddeMobility.com
Pininfarina, Pininfarina.it, @Pininfarina_official
