Honda VTR-Powered Lawn Mower Claims 133mph Top Speed

Honda UK has teamed up with its British Touring Car Championship partner Team Dynamics to produce what it calls the world’s fastest lawn mower. The Honda Mean Mower is powered by a 996cc V-Twin engine from a VTR1000F Superhawk, leading Honda to claim a top speed of 133 mph and a 0-60 time of four seconds.

Based on a Honda HF2620 lawn tractor, the Mean Mower uses an all-new 4130 chromoly steel chassis and bespoke suspension and wheels from a Honda ATV. The cutter deck was custom made out of fiberglass while the grass trimming bag at the rear hides a fuel tank, high-capacity oil cooler and a secondary radiator.

The Superhawk engine is paired with a custom six-speed transmission operated with paddle shifters developed with feedback from three-time BTCC Champion Matt Neal and reigning champion Gordon “Flash” Shedden. Other upgrades include a custom-made Cobra sports seat, Scorpion exhaust system and a steering rack from, of all things, a Morris Minor British economy car. Various other parts were cobbled together from Honda motorcycles and ATVs.

The engine produces a claimed 109 hp and 70.8 ft-lb. of torque. With an approximate weight of 308 pounds, Honda estimates the Mean Mower can reach a theoretical top speed of 133 mph. In practice, the Mean Mower has been track tested at a speed of 100mph. At idle, the mower registers 98db in volume, but on the track, the noise level jumps up to 130db.

“Honda is a great believer in collaboration, pushing boundaries and creating extraordinary pieces of engineering,” says Kate Saxton, manager of corporate affairs for Honda UK. “This project provided the perfect opportunity to not only highlight the breadth of our product offering but to also promote our sporty heritage and support our reputation as an innovative company. Above all else, we love a challenge!”

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The Mean Mower may be fast, but it’s also functional, with two electric motors spinning 3mm steel cutting cables. The cables spin at 4000rpm, cutting grass at a speed of about 15mph, more than twice the speed of a regular Honda HF2620 mower.

“One of the key challenges is that this has never been done before, to our knowledge, and so there are few learnings to call upon,” says Pete Crolla, manager of Team Dynamics. “From an engineering perspective, retaining the look of the mower, and the ability to still cut grass were the biggest challenge.”

[Source: Honda UK]

By Dennis Chung