Challenger Tractor

Challenger is an American brand of agricultural tractors. Created in 1986 by Caterpillar Inc., the brand was sold to AGCO in 2002. Since then, Challenger tractors have been manufactured at the company's Jackson, Minnesota facility. The original model was the Challenger 65 featuring the Mobile-Trac System (MTS) consisting of rubber tracks and a suspension system. Although marketed as the world's first rubber-tracked agricultural tractor, a company using surplus equipment inspired by the design of military tanks had produced a considerable number of rubber tracked tank tractors. The MTS combined the flotation and traction of steel tracks with the versatility of rubber tires. The use of tracks gave the machines increased tractive performance compared to traditional four wheel drive tractors equipped with tires. The Challenger 65 began as a 270 gross hp (200 kW) machine used primarily for heavy tillage. In 1995 Caterpillar introduced the first "row crop" tracked machines with the Challenger 35, 45 and 55. These machines ranged in power from 130 KW PTO to 168 KW and were designed to be used for a variety of tasks the larger machines could not.