Driving impression: Claimed to be the world’s biggest forage harvester, the Case IH Mammut boasts a 400kW/544hp motor, 76cm wide pick-up, 80cm x 63cm chopping drum and three crop processing rollers. We were able to test a pre-production model in France, and this is our exclusive driving impression
At last year’s Agritechnica show, Case billed its new Mammut 8790 as the world’s largest forager. After undergoing further testing earlier this season, the monstrous machine is now ready for full production and sale – in time for the annual munch through Europe’s ever expanding maize crop.
No-one can deny that Case’s flagship forager sports the necessary spec to live up to its impressive billing. Yet the Mammut still has much to prove. Bulging muscles don’t always translate into bristling in-field performance, and then there is the, as yet, untested reliability of its various componentry to consider.Still, that’s for the future. For now, let’s concentrate on what we do know.
Power, for example, is sourced from a 16-litre Deutz engine with a claimed rated output of 400kW/544hp; Case doesn’t quote a maximum output statistic, but prefers the phrase ‘abundant’. The V8 lump is fitted transversely to give direct drive to the chopping drum via a six-ply drive belt, tensioned by a low-pressure hydraulic system. While three large flip-up panels – at the rear and on both sides – give easy access to all service points on the engine, radiator and hydraulic system.
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