Honda’s fire-spitting lawnmower speeds to 130 mph

A Honda that can sprint from 0-60 mph in four seconds? Unless you're talking about a Honda race car, or the upcoming Acura NSX, that machine doesn't exist. So what did Honda do? They created a flame-spitting monster that achieves just that, while powering to an ultimate speed of over 130 mph. But it's not a car. Or even a motorbike. It's a lawnmower.

This is perhaps the most extreme case of overkill since the resurrection of New Kids On The Block.

How much overkill? 532 hp per ton. A 6-speed paddle shift gearbox. A custom-made Cobra racing seat. A steering wheel straight from a race car. And a Scorpion exhaust that makes the grass-cutter sound like a miniature SRT Viper. Oh, and it has the steering rack from a Morris Minor. That part's perhaps not so special.

The project began as a re-engineered Honda HF2620 Lawn Tractor, sporting a 1000cc engine from a Honda VTR Firestorm. Honda calls it the Mean Mower, and it was designed in part with the automaker's British Touring Car race team. Despite its lunacy, it still cuts grass at speeds of up to 15 mph, and will do so while consuming fuel at a rate of 40 mpg. Housing the necessary juice becomes a job for the grass bag, which moonlights as a fuel tank. Honda claims the Mean Mower is the fastest lawnmower in the world.

While it's easy to ridicule such a silly concept, watching the video, it's impossible not to want one. It looks exquisitely engineered and promises to make the hateful task of mowing the lawn exciting. Let's just hope Honda's favorable showing of overkill doesn't encourage N Sync to make a return.