JCB’s journey to the fastest tractor in the world
What is the fastest tractor in the world?
The JCB Fastrac stormed into the record books on the 3rd October 2019, after being crowned the world’s fastest tractor. It hit a peak speed of 153.771mph on its way to recording an average of 135.191mph.
When the Fastrac was first launched in 1990, its speed and agility revolutionised the agriculture sector, and it has remained a standout machine over the decades. Typically, a JCB tractor top speed is 40mph. But the JCB Fastrac made history with motorbike racer and lorry mechanic Guy Martin at the wheel - setting the fastest tractor world record with an average speed of 135mph at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, UK.
The whole process was captured on camera for a Channel 4 TV documentary called ‘Guy Martin: World’s Fastest Tractor’, and followed the JCB team as they reached for the world record.
The history of the JCB fastest tractor attempt
The JCB Fastrac One achieved the British record in June 2019 with an average of 103mph – so we then embarked on an ambitious plan to beat our own time and set a new world record. The JCB team worked hard to increase the world’s fastest tractor top speed, developing a more aerodynamic, streamlined version in the Fastrac Two.
Both JCB’s record-breaking achievements took place at Elvington Airfield near York, England. The airfield was originally used by the RAF during WW2 and has a runway measuring 1.92 miles, one of the longest in Britian. It’s a popular location for speed tests and was the perfect location for a record-breaking attempt.
Engineering and innovation
The fastest JCB tractor was a highly modified version of the JCB 8000-series Fastrac, featuring a 7.2 litre, 6-cylinder JCB Dieselmax engine producing over 1,016hp.
Streamlined bodywork had a big role to play in the design of the fastest JCB tractor. JCB recruited Wiliams Advanced Engineering to conduct an aerodynamic analysis and development with the help of Rob Smedley, ex-Williams head of vehicle performance, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A surface creation was also carried out by JCB’s Industrial Design Team.
The team made some changes to the Fastrac Two to give it an edge.
- Made the standard cab 200mm lower and 300mm narrower.
- The whole machine was made 200mm lower.
- New cab air deflectors were developed.
- A front splitter, belly plate, and rear diffuser were added.
The results gave the JCB Fastrac Two a 10% reduction in drag over the Fastrac One, and reduced the weight to less than 5 tonnes.