TOTY 2019, Let The Challenge Begin

The Eima presses on, and the ‘Let The Challenge Begin‘ competition marks the time that misses from the awarding of the 2019 edition of the international Tractor of the Year award. The selection process of the finalists has started. To attend the proposals of the manufacturers, the jury gathered near Bologna on the 28th and 29th of May. Palazzo di Varignana offered the perfect context for the meeting. The well-established formula gives every participant the opportunity to present to the jurors the peculiarities of their vehicles. Then, if they will meet the requirements, they will become part of the group of finalists playing for the title.

TOTY 2019, the categories and the finalists

There are three categories in which to compete. The first is that of Tractor of the Year for open field tractors without any limitation. Instead, the Best Utility category rewards the multipurpose company vehicles with 4-cylinder engines, power over 70 horsepower and a land-dumpable mass within 8,900 kilos. Then, the last category is Best of Specialized. The competitors in this challenge are tractors used in orchards, vineyards, mountains, and hill. The machines selected for the final phase, regardless of the category, will also compete for the prestigious Best Design award. This will be assigned to the tractor with the most original and appealing line.

Ten tractors challenge each other in the final phase. In the Tractor of the Year category the match will oppose, for the first place, Case IH Maxxum 145 Multicontroller, McCormick X7.690 P6-Drive, and Zetor Forterra. Then, Best Utility will see Massey Ferguson 6713 competing with Case IH Farmall 75, Fendt 313 Vario, and Steyr 4115 Kompakt HD. Finally, for the Best of Specialized, the challenge is open. Landini Rex 4, Antonio Carraro TTR 7600 Infinity, and Same Frutteto CVT 115 S are the top players.

Free market and captive, the DIESEL perspective

As always, DIESEL magazine pays particular attention to what happens in the Tractor of the year competition. The reason? Not only the relationship of close collaboration with the magazine Trattori. The TOTY award is a marker of the state of health of the world of “free-market” engines. This year, the list of free-market engines mainly includes specialized units. Antonio Carraro plays the Kolher 2504TCR card, Landini the Deutz TCD2.9. We need to check among Argo‘s collaborations to find an open field tractor, the McCormick, powered by the F67 N67. Sdf and Zetor, following the example of Agco, produce engines for domestic use and stand representing the captive market. We are talking about Same’s Farmotion and Zetor’s 4.1 liters.

TOTY 2019, field test

The next phase will concern the field tests. These will be organized ad hoc for the jurors. Field tests need to come to an end by the month of September in order to arrive at the Eima with the long-awaited verdicts. As mentioned several times during the last editions, the Tractor of the Year is a journalistic prize absolutely independent and unrelated to any commercial logic. There is no constraint for companies other than to present themselves at the selection event with machines corresponding to the requirements and in production by the end of 2019. Following, a photo of the last winner.