This is possibly the only Porsche that was built with skis instead of wheels. It was designed by Ferdinand Porsche himself and licensed to Arova, an established skibob manufacturer.
It’s safe to say that skibobs never really caught on in the same way as more traditional Alpine sports like skiing, snowboarding, and drinking. For the uninitiated, skibobs are akin to bicycles with skis instead of wheels, allowing the rider to ride down ski slopes – often at high speeds.
Above Video: This is an introduction into the world of skibobbing, it shows skibobbers piloting their unusual vehicles down the slopes. As a sport skibbobing has never really caught on in a big way, but there is a tight nit international community around the sport.
The first patent for what would now be considered a skibob was filed back in 1892 and simple skibobs were in use for many years in limited numbers as a form of winter transportation in the Alps – often for people who lacked the strength in their legs for skiing.
In 1954 the first official international skibob race was held, it proved popular, and seven years later in 1961 the FISB (Fédération Internationále de Skibob) was founded to govern the sport. Modern skibobs are divided into two major classes – Type 1 skibobs which have no suspension, and Type 2 which do have front and rear suspension.
Far from being a sedate way to slide down a hill, modern skibobs have become known for their high speeds. The world record is held by Austrian professional skibobber Erich Brenter at 102 mph (or 164 km/h).
The Arova-Porsche 212 Skibob
The Arova-Porsche 212 Skibob was designed to fit neatly into the front trunk of a Porsche 911 once it’s disassembled – with the parts all fitting neatly into the fiberglass body. This is a more advanced skibob design with front and rear Suspa aluminum shock absorbers providing ample suspension to soak up bumps.
This model can accommodate two people, typically the rider and passenger would have smaller skis fitted to their feet which helped with stability – there are no foot pegs like you would expect to find on a motorcycle.
With a total weight of approximately 14 kilograms the Arova-Porsche 212 is heavier than most skibobs, it has a body made from molded polyfoam, and aluminum struts with fiberglass feet.
The handlebars and the front ski detach when not in use and are stored inside the hollow body. The rear ski folds up underneath and acts as the base.
We see these skibobs come up for sale from time to time, they tend to appeal to both Porsche collectors and skibob enthusiasts, though they’re now too old to ride safely and would ideally be used for display purposes only.
This particular Arova-Porsche 212 Skibob is finished in a red and black colorway, and it appears to only have been used very lightly. It’s now due to be auctioned in early December by RM Sotheby’s with a price guide of $6,000 – $8,000 USD, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images: Corey Escobar ©2023 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
