Tractor test: Purported to blast up to 406kW/552hp, AGCO’s Challenger MT865 fights it out with the mighty Case IH STX500 Quadtrac for the title of the world’s most powerful commercially produced tractor. The tan-coloured titan has been on the market for a little longer, which means it is this model that comes up first for profi’s tractor test treatment. And she is quite a beast
When the original Challenger flat-track was updated, its replacement, the new and quite different MT model, had a tough act to follow here in the UK. The previous 95E, after all, had become the main prime mover on many of the largest arable units; indeed in some cases these businesses had rationalised to the extent that they were totally reliant on this one tractor for all of their key cultivations and drilling. So, in short, there was no room for mistakes, no real margin of error. The Challenger replacement had to be something pretty special.
Meet the MT. Right from the off, it’s difficult not to be impressed. For starters, the crawler stands at over 3.5m tall, which means the access up into the cab involves quite a trek – up seven steps and wander along a 7.0m long catwalk that runs from the front to back of the machine. When seated there are yet further surprises, though on this occasion because the first-time operator is greeted with a control layout that will probably be more familiar than perhaps initially expected – almost conventional steering wheel, gear lever, spool rockers. But we’ll return to this later.
The MT is, first and foremost, about lugging horsepower – and this it has in abundance from a six-cyl Cat C16 lump, which boasts 15.8-litre piston displacement, four-valve technology and a pump/nozzle injection system. Output at the 2,100rpm rated speed is a claimed 355kW/482hp (ECER24), with its maximum output return of 406kW/552hp arriving way down at the 1,700rpm mark.
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