John Deere claim that its 9RX 830 is the largest tractor in mass production and, with 913hp being available, that is no idle boast.

It might be argued that other manufacturers have already broken the 900hp barrier, specifically the Big Bud 747 which was eventually tuned out to 1,100hp, but that was a one-off tractor custom built for the cotton fields of California.

Another machine from the past that approached this barrier was the South African ACO 600 at 820hp, while the nearest rival to John Deere today is the Case 715, the largest of the Quadtracs at 705hp.

There are of course forage harvesters that exceed 1,000hp - the Krone Big X at 1,156hp for instance - but these direct their energy to processing the crop rather than applying traction to the ground.

The John Deere 9RX 830 on the other hand is in the company's catalogue as a farm tractor, designed for draught-work, which is available for purchase by anyone with the money to invest in such a machine.

Applying the rule of thumb of €1,000/hp, the price would be within shouting distance of €1 million, so we are unlikely to see it being kept as a stock item on any dealer's forecourt.

Powering this titan is Deere's own 18L JD18X six pot industrial engine, which is rated on the company's site as 908hp max, so either the engineers have found a little more to squeeze from it or something has been gained in the conversion of KW to hp.

Deere also boast of this unit not requiring AdBlue, which has little to do with engineering genius but everything to do with the fact that engines above 560kw, or 750hp, are exempt from the emissions standards.

In between all that power and the tracks lies a 21 speed powershift transmission that has been designed specifically for Deere's high horsepower tractors.

These machines are built to effortlessly pull cultivation/seeder combinations at a rapid pace on all gradients, a rugged-tooth geared transmission will be able to handle the task without the need for a large CVT, which will only add to the already extravagant cost.

It is an impressive tractor and will probably not find a buyer in Ireland, yet for those who would like to get up close to it, John Deere are bringing one along to Cereals 2025 being held in Lincolnshire on the 11-12 June.