Bet you can guess who is behind the wheel.
The world’s fastest tractor is an honourable record. In 2018, Top Gear set a new world record for this discipline, traveling 87.27 mph (140.44 km/h) at Bruntingthorpe Proving Field in the United Kingdom. Guy Martin , a motorcycle racer and television presenter, set the record this summer with a JBL Fastrac8000 tractor modified to reach 103.6 mph (166.72 km/h) at Yorkshire’s Elvington Airfield. Martin and his team decided to go faster than that for the British engineering firm.
They returned to Elvington on October 23rd. Martin set an average speed record of 135.191 mph (217.570 km/h), and then extended it further with a speed record of 153.71 mph (247.35 km/h). This is the Guinness World Record record for fastest tractor on earth. Guinness uses the average speed of two consecutive runs, in opposite directions, to create a new world speed record. This is to adjust for variables such as wind and incline.
Guy Martin is not afraid to set some strange speed records. He currently holds the records for fastest gravity-powered snow sled speed (83.49 MPH/134.368 KPH), fastest soapbox speed (85.61 MPH/137.78 KPH) and fastest Wall of Death speed (78.15 MPH/25.77 KPH). He says he likes “going fast” but admits that it is risky and he will take it on the sled.
The JCB tractor that was used to set the speed record is powered with a 7.2-liter diesel engine. It can produce approximately 1,000 horsepower (746 kilowatts), and 1,843 pound feet (2,500 Newton-meters), of torque. A six-speed transmission has replaced the original CVT gearbox. Additionally, a smaller, lighter and more aerodynamic cabin was also installed. It doesn’t feel like it is a tractor to drive. Martin says that although it appears like a tractor from the outside, it doesn’t feel like one.