ABOUT

Steve Mancini always had a knack for vehicles and challenging terrain. Growing up, he worked in his dad’s construction company, surrounded by equipment and material. He liked to scavenge the junkyard next to the shop and put the laws of physics to test: in sand rails, drag races, and smash-up derbies.

 

Winters, Steve went snowmobiling, first in Northern Michigan and Canada, then further west, racing Colorado’s snowscapes with his son. For him, nothing beats a panoramic view at 11,000 feet, where mountains poke the skies. “You don’t get any closer to God!” he thought.

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Initially, Steve just wanted to find a way to share this experience with his family. A side-by-side with four single tracks lacked horsepower and torque, and most importantly a quality heating system for his wife. And the slouch of a snow groomer didn’t cut his idea of high-altitude cruising. He needed power without sacrificing comfort.

 

The goal was to fuse the muscle of a Hellcat-powered Jeep – the cat inspired the name of the tracks – with the competence of a snow groomer. Ambitious, but the math was simple: equip the power, articulation, and maneuverability of the best 4x4s with enough flotation to master deep powder. The tracks needed to cover enough square feet to glide over the snow. The construction had to be super light and extra durable for the terrain he was gunning for.

 

Steve went to the drafting board. The resulting prototype scaled hills with ease, gripping steadily, even icier surfaces. In fresh powder HELLTRAXX’s performance exceeded expectations. It felt like surfing over clouds. As a trained pilot, Steve knew a thing or two about that.

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Even Colorado locals had never seen anything like that. Steve realized HELLTRAXX had more potential than backcountry recreation. The versatile vehicles would be a game-changer for mountain access, rescue missions, ski resort maintenance, and avalanche control. 

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If the sky was the limit, this was the next best thing to flying.