Matt LeBlanc’s Top Gear Track-tor Breaks World Speed Record

This past weekend, somewhere in the middle of the New Forest National Park, a one-off contraption supposedly designed by Joey (sorry, Matt), established a new speed record after traveling at 87.2 mph (140.33 km/h) with the Stig behind the wheel.

LeBlanc declares himself a huge tractor fan and claims to have four of his own, so designing a new one for the show must have been a lot of fun.

Semi-officially called Track-Tor, the machinery uses a 5.7-liter small block V8, borrowed from a Chevy. In LeBlanc’s configuration, it spits out 500 bhp, transformed in forward motion by the 54-inch Super Swamper Bogger tires fitted on the rear wheels.

Track-tor is a Frankensteinian machine, employing brakes on all four wheels (the ones in the back can brake independently), LED lights from an Ariel Atom, a bright orange Lamborghini paint plus several other amenities like a rotating boot-cleaning brush, barometer, and rack.

Top Gear says that their run on the venue’s track disrupted the filming of an episode of Countryfile, a show reporting on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the UK. The disruption consisted of soaking presenter Ellie Harrison and ruining presenter John Craven’s piece-to-camera.

The Track-tor made its debut on the show this Sunday, with a complete presentation of the machine. A shorter video, for those of you who missed the action, is available below.

You won’t get to see the challenges to which the tractor was subjected to, but you will get to watch Stig race to the world record title, and then walk away with what appears to be the official recognition from the governing body of all records.