A "snowterbike" appears to be a strange hybrid of undetermined origins... Parts skateboard, snowboard, motorcycle, scooter, and skis. Similar to a snowmobile but significantly less successful and desirable, this bizarre snow contraption has an interesting history. Check out the funny article from Illicit Snowboarding tracking the evolution of the snowterbike from Nazi Germany to Sweden to Japan (inevitably) to the future.

Here is a little taste of the first and last snowterbike efforts (with an especially weird one in between). You can find the full article complete with plenty of pictures on Illicit Snowboarding:

1936 BMW SchneekradVintage Snowterbikes
BMW Schneekrad (Germany) When you re busy planning world domination you sometimes need to take a break from things and for the Nazis that meant heading to the Alps. Unfortunately for the Nazis snowboarding didn t exist at the time so they had to invent their own alternative and this is what they came up with, the BMW Schneekrad.

Apparently this is not a joke: “Treat yourself and
your ‘cycle to a SNOWJOB in ’73…just for the
fun of it!”

AREC SNOWJOB (USA)

Talking about stupid names holding back the snowterbike industry, the next lot to fall on that sword were the Advanced Recreation Equipment Corporation. As one of the commentators points out on The Knee Slider, Imagine being sold a snow job from a company named A Wreck. No wonder they weren t too successful.

All the way to...

It almost looks like the Batmobile Bike, but not
nearly as cool or as functional.

Hyanide (Germany)

The first snowterbike was German and the last one is too. Either things have come full circle or they have not moved at all, because this is essentially a shiny new version of the original BMW design. Designed by Oliver Keller and Tillamn Schlootz the Hyanide is apparently named for its resemblance to a crouching hyena. Also like a hyena it moves pretty fast with a top speed of 85mph and it will chew up any wildlife that gets in it s way. They have tried to improve on the 1936 version by allowing the entire frame of the bike to bend to allow turning. There is no news on whether they plan to add a side car.