If you’ve ever driven behind a tractor, you probably already know that they are many things, but fast isn't one of them. Tractors are built for power, not speed, but what if someone wanted to make a tractor go really fast? A few years ago, a team at British tractor manufacturer JCB set out to do just that and managed to set a new Guinness record for the world’s fastest tractor. The JCB Fastrac Two is a stripped-down and performance-enhanced tractor capable of reaching speeds of up to 153.8 mph. Powered by JCB’s proprietary 7.2-liter, 6-cylinder Dieselmax engine, the record-breaking Fastrac Two had a peak power of 1,016 hp, backed up by over 2,500 Nm of torque. Those are some impressive numbers, but keep in mind that even in its stripped-down form, this thing weighed a whopping 5 tons. That's why the team had to develop innovative solutions for improving aerodynamics in order to achieve their goals. Getting a 5-on tractor to safely reach 150 mph and stop again is not an easy task. Compared to the stock motor, the upgraded version features a larger turbocharger producing 5.0 bar of boost, an electrically-powered supercharger to keep the turbo spinning at low revs, water injection and charge-air cooling through ice tanks – necessary to reduce intake temperatures by 122º F. Engineers also revised the exhaust manifold for improved flow. The run eclipses the previous record-breaking speed of 135.91mph, set back in November 2019 with JCB’s Fastrac One.
