By Jethro Bovingdon
Photography by Wilson Hennessy
In 2013 Honda (UK) undertook an exciting new project to create the world’s fastest lawnmower.
Extraordinary engineering
The company believes in pushing boundaries and creating extraordinary pieces of engineering, and this project provided the perfect opportunity to not only highlight the breadth of Honda’s product offering, but also to promote its sporty credentials and support its reputation as an innovative company.
BTCC expertise
When it came to choosing a partner to design and create the world’s fastest lawnmower, Honda called on Team Dynamics, the powerhouse behind the build, preparation and racing of the two Honda Civic Tourers in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).
The brief was clear: to build a super-fast lawnmower that retained the look of a mower and could still cut grass. It seemed straightforward on the face of it, but the project turned out to be a seriously challenging exercise in engineering.
‘We’ve been working on it for several months,’ says team manager Peter Crolla. ‘Where possible we’ve tried to use Honda parts – from ATVs and motorcycles, for example – combined with our knowledge of race-car engineering to create a machine capable of 0-60mph in less than 4 seconds and a top speed estimated at over 130mph.’
Re-engineering
In order to achieve such scintillating performance, the Honda HF2620 Lawn Tractor was re-engineered from the ground up. It has an all-new fabricated chassis, custom-made from 4130 chromoly (high-strength steel alloy), which provides a strong, safe but very light platform. The motor has been upgraded to a 100bhp Honda 1000cc V-Twin engine originally fitted to a VTR1000 Firestorm motorcycle.
‘The engine’s lightness and exceptionally accessible performance has been the key ingredient for the project,’ notes Crolla. ‘Everything else was designed and built to allow the engine to perform to its maximum.’
Safety first
Safety was also crucial to the project – to balance the lawnmower, special tyres from a racing ATV have been used. ATV racing is held on rough, off-road tracks at speeds of up to 100mph, so the wheels and tyres are more than capable of supporting the mere 140kg of the mower.
But can this racing machine perform its primary purpose? ‘Yes, it cuts grass very efficiently, but we needed to lighten and simplify the system to ensure the mower was safe and stable at high speed,’ says Crolla. ‘So we replaced the blades with two pieces of high tensile steel cable, fitted to electric motors that rotate at 4000rpm.’
Team Dynamics engineer Ben Coles – the brains behind the new flame-spitting mower – was the first to take it for a spin around the track at Honda UK’s test facility. He concludes: ‘It’s the craziest, fastest thing I’ve ever driven!’
