Honda’s Mean Mower V2 has been put to work by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon to help prepare for the Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by MasterCard.
Before the Mean Mower sets off to reclaim the world land speed record for a lawnmower later this year, the Duke tasked it with cutting the grass of his famous estate.
With the Festival grounds prepped, the Mean Mower V2 will make its live public debut toda up the famous hill on Thursday, 12 July.
Experienced racing and stunt driver Jess Hawkins, currently appearing in Fast & Furious Live, will be at the wheel as it undergoes final preparations before its world record run.
The original Mean Mower broke the world lawnmower speed record in 2014 hitting 116.575mph but that’s since been surpassed.
The new model is estimated to be capable of 150mph thanks to its 999cc four-cylinder engine from a CBR1000RR Fireblade delivering 189bhp – double the power of the original.
Celebrating 40 years of Honda making lawnmowers, the Mean Mower V2 has been built by Team Dynamics – the developers behind the original Mean Mower and Honda’s British Touring Car Championship partner.
Based on the Honda HF 2622 lawn tractor, it has been re-engineered using CAD design, more bespoke parts, advanced lightweight materials and 3D printing.
The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, founder of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, said: “The Honda Mean Mower V2 is a serious bit of kit and it will be really exciting to see it burning up the Goodwood Hillclimb.”
Dave Hodgetts, Managing Director at Honda UK, said: “We are very excited to be bringing Mean Mower V2 to the Festival of Speed this year and we cannot wait to see it take on the Hillclimb.
“The original Mean Mower was a great challenge for us and the result was an amazing machine. This time we have moved the game on considerably to build an incredible piece of real engineering, using advanced design and production techniques and calling upon some very clever thinking to bring the performance and power but still retain the look of the production mower.”
The Festival is renowned for attracting the rarest and most exciting road and race cars and bikes ever created. The 2018 running of the event will be no different as it marks its Silver Jubilee having been staged every summer since 1993.
The FoS Future Lab will also be open again this year, focusing on space exploration, autonomous transport, robotics and personal flight. Visitors will be able to view displays and demonstrations, interact with some of the technology for themselves and learn more about these exciting innovations.
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