Holmer’s new Terra Variant 585 is one of the big surprises at this week’s German EuroTier livestock machinery show. The successor to the existing TV 600 eco (will be phased out towards the end of next year), the launch of the 585, which is powered by a 15.6lit MTU 6cyl 585hp block, is timed to meet Stage IV engine emissions. However, the major news is the machine’s weight of 21.5 tonnes; 1.5t lower than the current TV 600 eco. Reducing the weight was a priority during the development, the challenge being to transport 21 tonnes of slurry and 30 tonnes of sugar beet as lightly as possible. Some 400kg of this weight reduction comes from the newly-designed high-tensile-steel chassis. Other weight-saving measures include the plastic mudguards, the new design of plastic tank, and the loading intake pipe is now made from fibre glass. The company continues to look at other ways to reduce the TV’s weight, and reckons it may be possible to get this down to around the 20-tonne mark. This could ultimately see the fuel tank and the sheet metal made from ‘new materials and technologies’. In the meantime, the TV 585 can be fitted with larger tyres of the size 1000/55R32 and 1250/50R32. The maximum size for the TV 600 is 1050/50R32.    As a rough guide, the machine on display at EuroTier costs around €470,000. The slurry tank can be swapped for a 35cu.m. trailer body to enable the TV 585 to work as a sugar beet chaser bin. This kit costs an extra €60,000.