Honda UK and racing partner Team Dynamics have been chasing that coveted "fastest lawn mower" Guinness World Record for years. Today they officially claimed the title, and I gotta admit the thing's pretty wild to watch.
Piers Ward of BBC TopGear Magazine was perched on the tiny seat of the Honda HF2620 Lawn Tractor dubbed "Mean Mower" for the record run, and Guinness' record validators were on scene to roll their eyes and sign the certificate.
The mower was completely re-engineered with a custom-fabricated 4130 chromoly chassis, a one-off suspension setup, ATV wheels, six-speed paddle-shifting transmission, and the 1000cc engine from a Honda VTR Firestorm.
With about 71 lb.-ft. of torque, the Mean Mower gets to 60 MPH in about four seconds and on to a top speed of 130. For the world record run on the North Straight at IDIADA in Tarragona, Spain, it laid down an average of 116.57 MPH.
But yeah, it can still cut the grass. And pretty quickly; this monster can mow at up to 15 MPH, twice the pace of a regular HF2620. And here I never thought I'd be writing about a lawn tractor that could mow faster than a regular HF2620.
The grass bag has been removed in lieu of a fuel tank, oil cooler, and secondary radiator, but the Mean Mower does back two electric motors on the cutter deck that spin a 3mm steel cutting cable at 4000 RPM.
If Honda's willing to commit the resources to build this, maybe the Raptor-womping Ridgeline of my dreams will become a reality some day after all!