CHRIS MCCULLOUGH, IVT INTERNATIONAL
FIELD
COMPLETELY REDESIGNING ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR
COMBINE RANGES WAS NOT A JOB CLAAS EMBARKED UPON LIGHTLY.
AFTER A MILLION MAN HOURS OF DEVELOPMENT IT NOW INTRODUCES
THE ALLNEW LEXION RANGE, FRONTED BY WHAT IS BELIEVED TO BE THE
MOST POWERFUL COMBINE HARVESTER THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN
It has been a sturdy
reliable workhorse for
Claas over the past 24 years, but
now a completely new Lexion
combine range has been
introduced by the popular
German manufacturer.
Claas engineers say they have
gone back to the drawing board
to completely redesign the
latest, second-generation Lexion
hybrid range to re ect the
demand for bigger machines
from farmers and contractors.
is fresh demand asked for
a higher capacity combine that
can harvest quicker yet more
e ciently, and that can provide
the operator with the highest
level of comfort and safety.
Looking back over the years
to 1995 when the rst Lexion
was launched, this range of
combines really did lead the
way in the harvesting of cereals
and other crops.
And now with the second
generation of Lexions, Claas
is hopeful its strong reputation
will continue over the next
two decades.
e latest Lexion APS
Syn ow Hybrid range has been
in development over the past 10
years and in that time the
manufacturer has accrued one
million hours of development
time and over 6,000 hours of
endurance testing.
And, according to Claas UK
combine product manager
Adam Hayward, 66% of parts
are completely di erent to those
on the current outgoing hybrid
model, which currently accounts
for around 75% of all hybrid and
rotary combines sold in the UK.
e new models starting with
the most powerful, are: the 8900
that delivers 790hp; the 8800
providing 653hp; the 8700 at
585hp; the 7700 at 549hp; the
36 iVTInternational.com September 2019
7600 delivering 507hp; the 7500
delivering 462hp; and nally the
7400 that delivers 408hp. e
8000 range is the wide-body
machine and the 7000 range is
the narrow-body machine.
“ e new Claas Lexion range
has been tested in 10 di erent
countries around the world on
all crops,” says Hayward. “A lot
of time was spent in the UK
testing. It is a challenge to follow
the previous generation as it
still is the bench mark for
harvesting performance.”
With its latest development
Claas has introduced the world’s
most powerful combine, the
agship Lexion 8900 model
rated at 790hp and powered by
a MAN engine. It can be used
with the latest 13.8m (45 ) wide
Vario cutterbar.
Joining the 8900 in the wide
body range are two other
models, plus there are a further
/iVTInternational.com
