Top-end speed for tractors has climbed over the years, as farmers look for ways to reduce the amount of time spent transporting equipment. Faster road gears have become more valuable as farms grow in size, with longer distances between fields.
While it might exceed what’s practical on most North American farms, a new Guiness World Record for fastest tractor speed was recently set in Finland. As part of a marketing campaign for Agco’s Valtra tractors and Nokian Tyres, four-time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen reached a speed of 130.17 km/h (80.88 mph) driving a Valtra T234 tractor equipped with winter tractor tires.
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The record was set on February 19th on a 2,300 metre packed snow strip at Vuojärvi, Finland. According to the promotional video posted online, the tractor featured a standard factory engine with its computer settings tweaked for higher speeds. As you can see in the video, at least one drive shaft broke while pushing the machine to drive faster.
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