50 years of Lynx Snowmobiles
1967-1979 – The Beginning
The story of Lynx begins in the year 1967 in Kurikka, Finland. When the first sketches of a new kind of snowmobile were made and the first sleds were manufactured, little did they know that a new icon was born.
Fun facts:
- In 1977, the 10,000th Lynx snowmobile came out of the production line.
- Lynx was the first in the world to introduce a durable gear wheel transmission in a snowmobile in 1978.
1979-1985 – The Development
The birth of the European sports snowmobile.
Fun facts:
- As Valmet bought Velsa Oy, its manufacturing of Lynx snowmobiles was moved to Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland, where also the Winha sleds had been manufactured.
- The first time Lynx snowmobiles touched the ground of Antarctica happened in the early 1980s.
- The 20,001st Lynx snowmobile was handed over to the Finnish Border Guard on October 20th 1982.
1985-1995 – The Innovation
Revolutionary products have always been at the core of Lynx. This period saw the first wave of innovation. Due to Lynx’s success on the race tracks, more and more people got interested in riding snowmobiles in their spare time. New innovative models were created and common people were finally given the chance to experience the freedom and joy that riding a snowmobile can offer.
Fun facts:
- In 1987, Lynx introduced the groundbreaking Syncro gearboxes. This innovation remains unique until this day.
- The winter of 1989 made the world look at Finland as the World Ski Championships were held in the city of Lahti. All service duties were taken care of with Lynx sleds.
- Lynx won its first European Championship title in 1989.
- Together with Starckjohann-Telko, Bombardier Inc. bought Nordtrac in 1988. From then on, the company manufacturing the Lynx snowmobiles was called Bombardier-Nordtrac and by 1993 it was solely owned by Bombardier.
1995-2008 – The Growth
Insightful and ambitious professionals and snowmobile enthusiasts have helped Lynx to grow during the years. The growth of Lynx runs on many levels during this time period. There are of course, the growing number of victories on race tracks and the amount of snowmobiles manufactured. But when talking about growth, Lynx has always kept the coming generations in mind.
Fun facts:
- In the mid 90s, Lynx developed a snowmobile for the North American market based on the legendary 5900. The model was exported by the name Skandic WT.
- Lynx was the official provider of maintenance sleds for the Trondheim Nordic World Ski Championships in 1997.
- The 100,000th Lynx snowmobile was handed over to Mr. Santa Claus on March 14, 1998.
- Lynx snowmobile number 150,000 came out of the manufacturing line at the Rovaniemi factory on October 29th, 2003.
2008 and Beyond – The Present & The Future
Fun facts:
- The Adventure LX 600 ACE model quickly became one of the best selling safari snowmobiles after its introduction in 2011.
- Team Lynx has offered a great platform for new talents. The technology combined with the Lynx attitude has brought in a multitude of titles and places on the podium.
- In 2017, Lynx introduced the revolutionary Radien platform. The radical mass centralization is base for a solid riding experience and the bevelled tunnel together with a slim seat and gas tank provides a comfortable riding position and easy movement on the sled.
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