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The late 1970s were a time when people wore eyeglasses big as TV screens, Farrah Fawcett "big hair" ruled and disco was king. It also was the time when Ski-Doo conceived an all-new small sled in an attempt to replace its steady, but slow selling, Elan.
Introduced about a decade earlier, the Elan was especially popular with hunters and trappers who liked that it was both light in weight and long in track, aspects ideal for wandering the outback. But the sled was showing its age as it bore a close resemblance to the early bubble-nosed Olympiques of the 1960s.
This was, after all, the '70s and Ski-Doo had unleashed a sexy, high-powered Blizzard 9500 Plus with abundant speed and low-slung racy looks. Though updated for 1979, the Elan was still just a budget-priced little sled with a low-powered 247cc single and yesterday's styling.
Enter the Citation 300.
Not to be confused with a line of Citations that would come along a few years later, the 1979 Citation was slightly longer, a bit wider but not as tall as the Elan. It had a four-inch wider, more stable ski stance and was powered by a new 293.5cc twin cylinder Rotax that featured a "FanJet" air-cooled muffler that was claimed to make the Citation run quieter, cooler and perform better. The small Ski-Doo engine featured a single rubber-mounted 30mm Mikuni carburetor, which was in stark contrast to the Elan's diaphragm-type Tillotson HR carb.
The Citation was supposed to help Ski-Doo or, hopefully, new consumers "Doo it right the first time." Advertising pegged the Citation as the perfect choice for a second family sled or even the first sled you'd ever own. Marketing materials pointed out that the new entry came with all of Ski-Doo's snowmobile savvy at a small price (MSRP $1,399 US). Obviously not enough consumers bought the pitch, as the sled withered and faded away within a few years.
Interestingly, the Ski-Doo Elan lived on for quite a few more years, as it was too popular with the hunter/trapper crowd to kill off.
What killed the Citation? Not price. But for a few hundred dollars more you could own a brand new, full-sized Olympique 340 with a bigger engine, greater power and room for two. This more realistically suited the needs of first-timers and those looking for a second sled.
Still, the '79 Citation was an interesting machine as it was Ski-Doo's first low-buck sled to feature a Torque Reaction slide rail suspension similar to the ones used on Blizzard models. By this time, the Elan had dropped its slide unit and reverted to bogie wheels.
The Citation had a generous six gallon fuel tank (vs. a 3.6 gallon in the Elan) but at 329 pounds, it weighed nearly 30 pounds more than the Elan. Even a nice two- season warranty wasn't enough to make the Citation a hit in its first iteration.
The problem? In my estimation the Citation was simply too small and wasn't perceived as the ideal second sled, but as a kid's sled. It was light and bouncy on the trail. Adequately powered for its size, it wasn't comfortable for anyone seriously above average height or weight. The Olympique 340 was a better overall buy and had the image of being a "real" snowmobile, not a mini-economy sled.
If you're looking for a "vintage" sled with an interesting history, look for a 1979 Citation 300. It was actually quite advanced as it featured a low profile, wide for the times ski stance, newly designed Rotax fan-cooled twin, self-adjusting disc brake, Ski-Doo's unique Square Shaft drive clutch and 114-inch long rubber track.
Although technically advanced, the first Citation simply didn't last long into the 1980s. But by then disco was dead too!