JAMES ALLEN, IVT INTERNATIONAL
TO P
A NEW, POTENTIALLY AWARDWINNING TRACTOR FROM FENDT HAS
BROKEN THE 400HP BARRIER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE 900
SERIES, BUT IT IS ABOUT FAR MORE THAN JUST POWER
Cast your mind back to 1995,
what were you doing? I was
still in full-time education, Fendt, in
contrast, was introducing to the
world the rst iteration of its 900
Series tractors at Agritechnica 1995.
Fast forward 24 years and as the
agricultural world again readies
itself for the industry’s largest show,
Fendt is once more excited about the
appearance of its 900 Series
machines. With the largest in the
range – the 942 Vario being
announced as one of the nalists in
the coveted Tractor of the Year
(TOTY) awards, Fendt will nd out
if this model from the sixth
generation of the series is the overall
winner at an awards ceremony on
the rst day (November 10) of this
year’s Agritechnica.
e most powerful of the new
900 Vario series, the agship 942
pushes the ranges past the 400hp
barrier for the rst time.
“We knew quite a lot of farmers
were demanding higher power from
tractors in this segment, so while the
1000 Series o ers over 500hp the
942 is the biggest in the 900 Series
and o ers more than the outgoing
model,” explains Peter Schneider,
powertrain specialist at Fendt, who
48 iVTInternational.com September 2019
goes onto explain how the feat
was achieved thanks to a close
collaboration with engine
manufacturer MAN.
“For this vehicle development
project we have a completely new
engine. With the engine of the
previous model we were at the
maximum output, so we thought
a lot about which direction we
should go, what would be good for
the tractors and what ts with our
desire for low engine speeds.
“We had a very good experience
with MAN engines in the 1000 Series
so in the end we chose them for this
series, too, but it is not an o -theshelf
unit – we constructed a
completely new engine with MAN.”
A full range
e power output of the ve vehicle
series ranges from the 930’s 296hp
up to 415hp from the top of the
range 942 model. To help it to meet
StageV emission requirements the
engine is equipped with a diesel
oxidation catalyst, a diesel
particulate lter and a selective
catalytic reduction.
While power was integral to the
vehicle project, engine size was also
a key consideration to ensure the
/iVTInternational.com