Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Fiat tractors: still going strong
New Holland is celebrating 100 years of Fiat tractors with a programme of events that kicked off at the EIMA 2018 exhibition in November and will continue during 2019. Joe Spencer reports.
The Fiat Model 702 was developed to address the labour shortage in agriculture as the First World War reached its final stages. An increase in productivity was needed urgently, and mechanisation was required to overcome the lack of manpower and plough the hard soil of lands neglected during the war.
the ideal solution
The 702’s four-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive, front steering axle and rigid rear axle were an unusual combination at the time. The 702 also broke with convention by ‘borrowing’ the Fordson tractor’s load-bearing powertrain, which eliminated the need for a chassis. However, the 702 was more powerful than the Fordson and ideal for the sloping lands that Europe’s farmers had to contend with.
in the 1960s, fiat introduced the concept of a tractor ‘ series’
After extensive field tests, the 702 was presented to the Italian authorities on 14 August 1918. It immediately made an impact by winning its first ploughing contest. The following year, Fiat started production of the first 1 000 tractors.
The Model 702 was the first in a long line of tractors that were initially developed to address a specific need. The Model 700C, for example, launched in 1932, was the first crawler tractor in Europe. It was a breakthrough, offering much improved tractive force, stability and safety on hillsides and muddy terrain. The following decade saw the arrival of the Model 40, another crawler tractor, which was light, safe and economical.
In the 1960s, the Diamante introduced the concept of a tractor ‘series’, with four models ranging from 16kW to 52kW. In 1967, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary with the Nastro d’Oro Series, which was available in vineyard, orchard, mountain and row crop versions. These became a favourite among small and medium farmers.
the Series 90
The 1980s saw the launch of the Series 90, one of the most popular tractor series in the history of agriculture. With its suspended cab, air conditioning and, for its time, remarkably low in-cab noise levels, it introduced an entirely new level of operator comfort. The series was continually developed and upgraded over the years, until the last model, the 110-90 Tradition of 2002.
For the Winner series, launched in 1990, Fiat’s designers took inspiration from the automotive world and raised cabin design
and technological content to a new level. The cab’s glazed doors and narrow side pillars provided unprecedented allround visibility. An on-board computer provided real-time data in a bar-graph format never before seen in a tractor.
In 1991, Ford New Holland was absorbed into the Fiat group. In 1999, New Holland acquired Case Corporation to create CNH Global, in which Fiat Industrial was the majority shareholder. CNH Industrial was established in 2013.
The Fiat brand name no longer appears on new tractors; today, CNH Industrial markets its tractors as New Holland, Case IH and Steyr brands.
• Joe Spencer is the mechanisation editor of Farmer’s Weekly.
For more information on the equipment in this report, email him at farmersweekly@caxton.co.za. Subject line: Equipment.