Honda's Mean Mower Packs its (Grass) Bag for Las Vegas

LONDON, October 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Honda's 'Mean Mower' is preparing to leave UK shores for the first time this week, heading off to Las Vegas for a special appearance in front of 60,000 trade visitors at the world's premier automotive speciality trade show, SEMA.

The 1000cc, 109hp lawn tractor will appear on Honda's stand within the Las Vegas Convention Centre alongside the 2014 Civic coupe, which makes its world debut at the show, as well as an array of personalised Honda cars and motorcycles.

Commissioned by Honda (UK) and built by its British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) partner, Team Dynamics, Mean Mower is set-up and geared to achieve a top speed of 133mph, weighing just 140kgm, producing 96Nm of torque and an incredible power-to-weight ratio of 532bhp/tonne.

The project saw Team Dynamics re-engineer a Honda HF2620 Lawn Tractor from the ground-up, adding a custom-made fabricated chassis, a 1000cc engine from a Honda VTR Firestorm, a bespoke suspension and wheels from an ATV. It features a custom-made paddle shift six-speed gear system, a bespoke sports seat, a Scorpion exhaust system and a steering rack taken from a Morris Minor.

Every effort has been made to retain as much of the look of the original mower as possible. The cutter deck was custom-made in fibre-glass, to reduce weight, while, in a stroke of pure genius, the grass bag provides a happy home for the fuel tank, a high capacity oil cooler and a secondary water cooling radiator. Mean Mower can also still cut grass, at up to 15mph, thanks to two electric motors on the cutter deck, spinning 3mm steel cutting cable at an incredible 4000rpm.

Ellie Ostinelli, PR Communications Manager for Honda (UK) comments: "Mean Mower is a fantastic showcase of Honda's spirit of innovation and pushing boundaries, and our reputation for creating extraordinary pieces of engineering. SEMA is a perfect shop window for it, sitting alongside some of the world's best innovations in automotive products."

Completed in June this year, Mean Mower has been put through its paces by 2012 British Touring Car Champion and Honda Yuasa Racing driver Gordon 'Flash' Shedden - http://bit.ly/MeanMower but has yet to appear in front of the public.

The SEMA Show is the world's premier automotive speciality products trade event. Taking place November 5th-8th, it draws the industry's brightest minds and hottest products to one place to enjoy educational seminars, product demonstrations, special events, networking opportunities and much more. SEMA Show 2012 drew more than 60,000 domestic and international buyers, showcasing almost 2,000 newly introduced parts, tools and components.

Visit http://www.honda.co.uk/garden/ride-onmowers/

Twitter: #meanmower

Contact
Honda Press Office
Honda (UK)
Office:  +44(0)1753-590141
Email:  huk.pressoffice@honda-eu.com
 
Ellie Ostinelli
Honda (UK)
Office:  +44(0)1753-590193
Mobile:  +44(0)7872-103205
Email:  ellie.ostinelli@honda-eu.com
 
Dev Mistry
Honda (UK)
Office:  +44(0)1753-590-141
Email:  dev.mistry@honda-eu.com