MachineryLink

Fastest (Production) Tractor

Jim Patrico
By  Jim Patrico , Progressive Farmer Senior Editor
JCB's new 4000 Series tractors (like the one shown here) will do 38 mph. Its older cousin the 3230 XTRA will hit 50 mph on the road. (DTN/The Progressive Farmer photo by Jim Patrico)

A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Russ Quinn wrote in this column about a souped-up Valtra tractor in Finland that set a speed record of 80 mph ... in the snow no less! The British company's Fastrac tractor won't go that fast, but its 3230 XTRA model will move down the road at 50 mph, which might make it the fastest production tractor going. The Fastrac line are production tractors JCB introduced in 1991. They were a hit in Europe where lots of tractors ride public roads from village to village and field to field. But the Fastrac's wheel widths were unsuited for 30-inch rows, so Fastrac was slow to catch on with North American crop farmers.

That might have changed. The new 4000 Series Fastracs not only tool along at 38 mph road speeds (slower than some other Fastrac models), they also can be configured for 30-inch rows. They are loader-ready and, with horsepower ranges of 160 to 217 hp, can legitimately claim to be both utility and row-crop tractors.

"We had a chance to step back and use a clean sheet of paper," when designing the 4000 Series, says Richard Fox-Marrs, JCB agriculture managing director. "We would be nuts to think, 'Let's go make a farm tractor the same way as John Deere and New Holland.'"

Road speed by itself obviously wasn't enough to entice row-crop farmers.

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To Fox-Marrs, "That [notion] missed the mark. It's not always speed on the road that is important. It's speed in the field. If you can take a job like spraying or fertilizer spreading and go from 10 mph to 12 mph, that's a 20% productivity increase."

So JCB chose to focus on a niche -- speed and productivity in a row-crop tractor.

A tractor that can run fast on the road and work quickly in the field requires an innovative suspension system. Each wheel in JCB's 4000 Series has its own active hydro-pneumatic suspension system to absorb bumps for comfort and to rebound for traction. The front wheels' system can be locked to make the suspension rigid for loader applications. The new Fastracs come standard with continuously variable transmissions.

A fast tractor also has to stop with a load behind it. The 4000 Series has disc brakes that are reminiscent of those on over-the-road trucks.

To make the Fastrac nimble, JCB engineers gave it four-wheel-steer. The smallest of the three models has a tiny 33-foot turning radius and has a crab-steer mode for the tightest of spots.

JCB is proud of the 4000 Series' work capabilities. Its 6.6-liter AGCO Power Tier 4 Final engine gives a maximum of 700 pound-feet of torque at 1,400 rpm. The tractors have five hydraulic valves in the rear, two more in the front and an optional front pto. The rear linkage has a lift capacity of 17,700 lbs.

Price range for the 4000 Series is $220,000 to $325,000.

JCB also offers two other lines of Fastrac tractors. The 3230 XTRA will hit that 50 mph mark and has 220 hp under the hood. The 8280 and 8310 have 279 hp and 306 hp, respectively and will each go 43 mph.

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Gerald Kurtz
5/2/2015 | 1:16 PM CDT
the old adage is still relevant: Speed KILLS ! I wouild expect highway and field upsets will probably be increased.