Challenger MT800B Series Track Tractors Set And Break New Records In Nebraska Tractor Tests

They say that records are made to be broken; and that’s exactly what the new Challenger MT800B Series track tractors have done. By taking tractor horsepower and performance to the highest level ever recorded in a production tractor, rated at 510 and 570 gross engine horsepower respectively, the new Challenger MT865B and MT875B have established a track record of their own as the largest tractors ever built by Challenger.

However, it appears that the two largest models in the five-model MT800B Series have also set, not one, but two consecutive records for “drawbar horsepower in an agricultural vehicle” at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory. Although the figures won’t be official until they are published next month, Challenger engineers have already seen both models surpass the benchmark previously established by a competitive 4-wheeldrive tractor. Moreover, they’ve witnessed the Model MT875B unofficially pass the 500-drawbar-horsepower mark, becoming the first tractor in history to do so.

“Part of the credit goes to a new 18.1-liter (1,105 in3) Caterpillar Tier III ACERT engine, which set its own record as the largest in a production farm tractor,” says Ken Huck, manager of engineering systems and test for Challenger tractors. “However, I think our exclusive Mobil-Trac system and its ability to put power to the ground deserves equal merit.”

Founded in 1920, the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory was originally established as a standardization test to ensure the reliability of tractors sold to Nebraska farmers. With some 160 tractor manufacturers in business at the time, poor performance, the need for dependability and a tendency by some manufacturers to overstate their products’ horsepower was becoming a big problem.

The law was changed in 1986 to allow the sale of any tractor tested by any international laboratory approved by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory, meanwhile, became an OECD sanctioned testing station, primarily for tractors built in the United States. As Huck explains, part of the test involves pulling a load cart containing instrumentation that measures critical test parameters around a 0.4-mile oval test track. When necessary, which was the case with the MT865B, additional tractors are hitched behind the cart for added load.

“Despite the changes in tractor design and international agreements over the years, the Nebraska Tractor Tests are still a valuable asset to North American farmers,” adds Tim Miller, general marketing manager for Challenger track tractors. “They provide the assurance that a company’s products meet their published specifications, and it affords a direct comparison to competitive machines tested under similar conditions. Consequently, we’re anxiously awaiting the official, printed records to confirm our position at the top of the horsepower ladder. It’s proof once again that Challenger stands not only for excellence in in-field service, but high-quality, top-notch products.”