Yahoo Autos Meet Honda's New Fire-Spitting 190-HP Lawn Mower
In 2014, Honda's British Touring Car Championship partner modified a HF 2620 lawn tractor and broke the land speed record for mowers, running 116 mph. But only a year later, a Norwegian named Per-Kristian Lundefaret took his modified Viking T6 all the way up to 133.57 mph. Honda couldn't let this stand forever.
As a result, the touring-car aces at Team Dynamics went back to the drawing board, fitting an HF 2622 mower with all the custom parts modern CAD design and 3D-printing could provide. Plus a lot of power-by using a 999cc four-cylinder from a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP motorcycle, Team Dynamics gave the mower 190 hp. And with that engine weighing just 152 lbs, the Mean Mower V2's power-to-weight ratio is close to being 1000 horsepower per 1000 kg.
That's Koenigsegg One:1 territory, so no wonder it's a firecracker:
Watch the video on YouTube here.
While the team expects to break the 150-mph barrier, the prototype retains a fairly stock look thanks to its front cowl, grass box, and body panels. Even more crucially, this mower can still cut grass, with revisions done to the cutter deck to house the chain running to the rear tires, and two batteries powering electric motors that spin carbon-fiber blades.
That's right, it's got carbon-fiber blades.
As far as Fireblade parts go, the engine is joined by the clutch, six-speed gearbox and the full color LCD display from the bike. Shifts are controlled through carbon-fiber paddles on the steering wheel, with the team estimating the mower reaching 90 mph in first gear.
The mower's chassis was made from T45 steel, rather than chromoly, for durability and flexibility, given its complete lack of a suspension. The airbox is a custom 3D-printed piece as well, leaving space for the injectors, while the brakes are vented discs with four-piston Kelgate calipers at the front, and six-pistons at the rear. Hoosiers's custom drag tires are mounted on ten-inch Goldspeed ATV wheels, anodized in gold.
And the guy wearing the helmet? Twenty-three-year-old kart daredevil Jess Hawkins, who works as a stunt driver for the touring Fast & Furious live show. Sounds like somebody who's cut out for the job.
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