Check out Steyr Konzept, a tractor concept which sports a hybrid powertrain, smart 4×4, and a linked drone
In 2019, Austria-based Steyr Tractor unveiled a futuristic concept tractor, simply christened ‘Konzept’. It was quite a handsome vehicle, and in 2020, it won the Platinum Award in 2020 MUSE Design Awards Competition, under the category of Concept Design. This tractor, which is still in the concept stage, has a lot of interesting tech on board.
The Steyr Konzept has a modular electric hybrid drive, which consists of a 4.5-litre, inline-4 diesel engine, a generator, and five electric motors! The engine only powers the generator, which is connected to the centrally-mounted battery pack. The battery can also be charged from an electric outlet, and this hybrid drivetrain can even recover energy while slowing down or descending slopes.
Each of the four wheels gets an individual electric motor at the hub, which results in a highly efficient electric continuously variable drive. As each hub motor is individually controlled, this tractor has a smart 4WD system, which provides brilliant traction and precision steering, great for grassy fields and gravel roads.
The tractor has a low centre of gravity, and with 4-wheel-steering and individual wheel speed control, the turning circle is quite tight as well. Apart from great handling, the Steyr Konzept also offers good all-around visibility, with the help of the large greenhouse area and high cabin, along with integrated cameras.
This tractor is capable of running on pure electric mode, which keeps noise pollution down as well. For people with animals in their farms, this is quite a practical feature. Due to the lack of a mechanical gearbox, there are much fewer moving parts here, and therefore the mechanical losses are much lower. This makes the Steyr Konzept’s hybrid powertrain much more efficient than that of a regular diesel tractor.
It also gets an electrically-driven PTO, along with 700 V and 48 V connections for other electrical implements. The most impressive feature, however, is the drone. With the Steyr Konzept, farmers also get a drone with a camera and crop sensors, which can be linked to the in-cabin display of the tractor and then used to survey the area from the sky.