A SPECTACULAR car show-style launch saw Italian manufacturer, McCormick, unveil the most powerful tractors it has ever built at Agritechnica, in Hanover, last Tuesday.

The McCormick X8 VT Drive tractors of 264hp, 286hp and 310hp herald a new entrant into the ever more important, and crowded market for high horsepower, heavy-duty tractors. These are the culmination of one of the most intensive new product investment programmes undertaken by any tractor manufacturers, pointed out Simeone Morra, director of corporate business for Argo Tractors, which owns the brand.

He said: "Two years ago we presented our new product strategy to renew the entire McCormick range with more modern designs, new features, new technologies, greater comfort for operators and, of course, more power.

"We have delivered our plan with the stylish X4, X5, X6 and X7 families from 64hp to 212hp, and now also the X8 Series - the flagship of our new line-up of modern tractors. This represents an investment of €75m in R and D over three years, 5.5% of our turnover, which demonstrates the commitment of the Morra family as owners and the company as a whole to the Argo Tractors enterprise."

The new X8 Series tractor is substantially bigger and heavier than the 165-212hp McCormick X7.6 design, but continues the same formula of bringing together proven components and assemblies in a unique combination. With up to 310hp and a heavy-duty CVT transmission, the X8 VT Drive will provide a tractor capable of the highest levels of performance.

They will have an integral three-point linkage and pto assembly as a new feature of the cast steel load-bearing frame which forms the front half of the tractors' chassis. This allows them to be more balanced with implements at the front and the rear, while keeping them relatively compact and manoeuvrable.

At the rear, a 12 tonne three-point hitch and electronically-controlled hydraulics with 157-litre (or 212-litre load-sensing pumps) - plus 115-litres/min dedicated to steering and other ancillary systems - caters for large-scale implements.

The 6.7-litre power unit meets the latest emissions rules using SCR exhaust after-treatment and has an electronically-controlled turbocharger with variable geometry, to manage power and torque outputs to deliver excellent low-speed response.

The McCormick X8 VT Drive can also be equipped with 900/60 R42 rear tyres, which can be used at modest inflation pressures to protect the soil but are also capable of carrying the tractor's 18-tonne gross weight under ballast.

A front axle with sophisticated parallelogram hydraulic suspension also helps deliver efficient traction while contributing to the comfortable ride provided by a sophisticated air seat and the new electronically-controlled active hydraulic suspension on the cab.

Argo plans to start production of the X8s in the second half of 2016 and Ray Spinks, sales director and general manager at AgriArgo UK said he was looking forward to the first units arriving in Britain: "The McCormick name is closely associated with efficient power and performance and the new X8 VT Drive is the ultimate expression of that image. It has great driver appeal and its unique combination of proven engine, transmission and hydraulics will make it a powerful performer in the field."