FENDT tractors have a long standing reputation as a premium tractor brand.
Excellent build quality, high specification with excellent levels of reliability commanded a high price tag for the German tractors, making them previously somewhat of a rarity in the farming landscape.
However, as the 21st century dawned, Fendt released a new tractor range with an all new transmission, which put the brand in the spotlight for high end farming applications: the ‘Vario’ CVT (continuously variable transmission).
Initially appearing in the large 926 tractors at Agritechnica, Hannover in 1995, Fendt quickly realised the potential of their Vario transmission, releasing the 916, 920, and 924.
While not pioneered by Fendt, Fendt were the first manufacturer to produce a heavy duty CVT transmission, and continue to be the only manufacture, to offer a CVT gearbox as standard across all of its tractor ranges.
A seamless and stepless transmission, the Vario combines the benefits of powershift with variable speed control, moving gradually from full hydrostatic drive to mechanical drive as speed increases.
With two ranges, the tractor can be operated at any ground speed between 0-50kph, allowing the driver to find the ideal working speed. In fact, the 916 can achieve a 0-50kph speed in 10 seconds.
The 900 Favorit Vario range was launched by Fendt in 1998.
The straight line styling of the previous Favorit models was replaced by a new curvy looking tractor in 2000, replicating the styling of the 700 series.
Key to this was the upgrading of the cab, almost identical to the 700 tractor range, along with increases in power, torque, and lift capacity.
Power comes from a 6.7-litre MAN engine with electronic fuel pump, which sits on rubber mounts in the chassis.
A 530l fuel tank stores ample diesel, with 112 litres of oil flow and a lift capacity of 9.1 tons. A heavyweight tractor, tipping the scales at just over eight tons.
Central to the new cab layout was the addition of the ‘Variotronic’, integrating the control terminal and joystick.
The joystick controls direction, speed, cruise control as well as front and rear linkage, spool valves and PTO, while the terminal enables the driver to adjust and fine tune all functions of the joystick to achieve optimal performance for every task.
Furthermore, settings for various implements can be saved in the terminal for future use.
While this is a common function in today’s high spec tractors, Fendt used this as a standard option 25 years ago.
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