A modified JCB Fastrac has set a new world tractor speed record of 135.191 mph, which was the average of two high-speed runs conducted at Elvington Airfield in the United Kingdom and ratified by Guiness World Records. On its way to establishing the record, the machine known as Fastrac Two achieved a top speed of 153.771 mph.
JCB’s Fastrac One set a new British tractor speed record in June, with an average maximum speed of 103.6 mph. Fastrac One and Fastrac Two are based on the commercially available JCB 8000-series Fastrac tractor, which is sold in North America and is the world’s fastest production tractor with a top speed of 43 mph.
“This has been a massive undertaking, so thank you very much to JCB and its engineering team, who got this tractor absolutely spot-on,” said British motorsports personality Guy Martin, who piloted both JCB record attempts. “Just look at it, they get stuff done, it’s brilliant, and it is still a working tractor, so could have gone straight to the nearest field to put in a shift.”
“When we reached 103.6 mph with the Fastrac in the summer, I was convinced we could go even faster, and the JCB team has risen to the challenge by setting this new record,” Lord Bamford said. “It’s an amazing achievement delivered by a young and enthusiastic engineering team. Everyone involved should be very proud of the part they have played in showing off JCB engineering at its very best.”
The team engineered solutions to shed more weight, making Fastrac Two 10 percent lighter than its predecessor, while benefitting from greater strength and additional streamlining.
The unit is powered by a modified JCB 7.2 liter, 6-cylinder Dieselmax engine, outputting 1,016 hp with more than 1,844 foot-pounds of torque. Despite the machine’s power output, it achieves more than 5 mpg, allowing it to accomplish its high-speed runs with just a 5.2-gallon fuel tank. And while the engine can run on vegetable oil, a high-performance racing diesel was used for the record attempts.
“Fastrac One really proved to us that there are no limits to what a young and dynamic engineering team can achieve,’ said JCB chief innovation and growth officer Tim Burnhope. “The biggest challenges have included aerodynamics, reducing weight and improving performance. Getting a five-tonne tractor to safely reach 150 mph, and stop again, is not an easy task, but we’re all so proud to have not only reached these goals but to have exceeded them.”
JCB has set speed records in the past. In 2006, its twin-engined Dieselmax streamliner set a diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, a record that still stands to this day.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.