Big Bud 747, the largest tractor in the world

ROME – Do not call it simply “tractor”, it could be offended to death. And there is no need to make a beast almost 9 meters long, 6 meters wide and weighing about 40 tons nervous. The Big Bud 747 is much more than an agricultural vehicle suitable for plowing fields: it is a living record despite being built in 1977, therefore the beauty of 44 years ago, a long enough period of time to try to overcome the various primates which proudly displays on his chest.

It all begins in an American town in the state of Montana called Havre, from whose Northern Manufacturing Company, in 1968, the first two Big Bud series 250 came out, purchased by the Leonard M. Semenza farm but far from their tonnage. successor.

Designed by the award-winning couple Wilbur Hensler and Ron Harmon, the Big Bud 747 left everyone breathless and not just for the $ 300,000 price tag, which wasn’t petty at the time. Its eight 2.5-meter diameter tires were custom-made by an American company, while a 24,000 cc diesel (you read that right) vibrated energetically under the hood, giving off a power of 1100 horsepower, with a torque of 4200 Nm. We don’t even dare to imagine how much diesel it could consume, but the fact that the tank had a capacity of 30,000 liters speaks volumes.

The record tractor passed through various hands of farmers, who exhibited it as the jewel of the house. Initially commissioned by the Rossi brothers, Californian cotton farmers, in 1985 it was sold to Willowbrook Farms in Indialantic, Florida. After a rest period in the garage, Big Bud returned home to Montana to once again take up service at a small farm owned by the Williams and spouses. Aware of his physical strength, they attacked him with a 24 meter wide plow, capable of covering an area of ​​0.53 hectares per minute. Years of backbreaking work that lasted until 2013, when Big Bud found refuge at Clarion’s Heartland Museum, in a shed of his own with air conditioning and all the comforts.

But a guy like him, born to dominate the fields, couldn’t hold out too long without doing anything. So in September last year he returned to the Williams family, who only had to replace his tires with hyper-technological Goodyear. A real godsend for Big Bud 747, which despite its venerable age and many kilometers in the engine continues to run free until sunset.