by Like classic cars or wine, the power of antique tractors comes from their historical importance and rarity. The alternative fuel prototype tractors of the 1950s, for example, were more interesting to hobbyists and collectors than the ordinary, mass-produced farm tractors that could be found on nearly every farm in the country.
Of course, personal taste factors will affect any great scale, including antique tractors. With that in mind, these five antique tractors are not displayed in a particular order, but if you totally love tractors, there’s probably at least one or two listed here, and you’ll find a tractor you like.
The Nebraska Test ‘Ford’
In the early 20th century, tractor manufacturers would make inferior equipment and present it as a premium product of more well-known manufacturers. One “Ford” tractor, in particular, has nothing to do with the Detroit-based automaker.
In response, Nebraska in 1920 began requiring that every tractor sold in the state be tested to make sure it performed as advertised. The tests were, and are still, conducted at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where the fraudulent “Ford” tractor is still there, as are the dynamometers used for most tractor tests over the past century or so.
Waterloo Boy Model R
The Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company was founded in Waterloo, Iowa, and its founders invented the first usable gasoline-powered tractor in 1892. In 1914, the company introduced the Waterloo Boy Model R. Unlike the first model, in which only four were built and only two were sold, over 8,000 Waterloo Boy R tractors were sold between its introduction and its discontinuation in 1918.
The company was acquired by John Deere in 1918, and the Waterloo Boy model became the basis for the green giant’s two-cylinder tractor. Examples of the Waterloo Boy tractor can be found today at the John Deere Hall, a museum dedicated to the history of the famous green machine.
The 1959 Allis-Chalmers Fuel Cell Tractor
In 1959, Allis-Chalmers first introduced a concept tractor powered by a fuel cell. It has a 20 HP (14.9 kW) motor that converts chemical energy from the gas mixture into electricity, operating smoke-free or noise-free. It had 1,008 batteries onboard – the largest operational fuel cell unit in the world at the time – and could transport 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms), enough to pull a multi-bottom plow.
On October 15, 1959, the company demonstrated the futuristic machine in an alfalfa field in Wisconsin, then promptly donated it to the Smithsonian Institution, which placed it in its collection. The work Allis-Chalmers did with fuel cells was later used for the Apollo moon missions, but funding cuts meant the company’s fuel cell program ended in 1970.
1961 International Harvester HT-341 Turbine Tractor
In the 1960s, the HT-341 was born, a concept tractor that debuted in 1961. It is powered by small turbine engines, which are used to power auxiliary systems such as air conditioning and starter motors on jet planes.
You may be wondering, why isn’t it popular? That little turbine can produce a lot of power – 85 horsepower (63.4 kW) from a 90-pound (40.8 kg) unit at an incredible 57,000 revolutions per minute – but it takes a lot of fuel to do so. It’s also noisy, and another complication is that the turbines require a lot of filtered air to operate. The HT-341 was never produced, and this prototype was also added to the Smithsonian Institution’s collection.
1947 Lamborghini Carioca
A Lamborghini tractor. Before Ferruccio Lamborghini took aim at cross-town rival Enzo Ferrari, he owned a company that made tractors. The first was the Carioca model he built in 1947 using leftover military parts. After World War II, parts almost lay on the ground, waiting to be picked up and put to good use.
The tractor is now in the Italian family museum Centro Studi e Ricerche Ferruccio Lamborghini. Lamborghini used the wealth he created in agricultural equipment as seed money for its luxury sports car business. What you may not know is that while the Murcielago and Gallardo supercars are famous today, the tractor side of the business is still going strong, with the Lamborghini name and Raging Bull logo on the front.
