NEW Holland unveiled its latest tractor technology at the recent Henty field days.
New Holland chose the Henty field days to display its Sidewinder II in-cabin armrest and new continuously variable transmission in a T7070 tractor.
Product manager for New Holland, Don Forrester, said the new tractor and technology was a flagship range of machinery.
"The 7000 series tractors have been a huge hit for New Holland and the major transmission and software upgrades have taken the tractor to the next level of operating efficiency," Don said.
The tractor's CVT is manufactured in New Holland's Antwerp transmission plant in Belgium while the T7000 series tractors are assembled at New Holland's Basildon plant, in the UK.
There are five models in the T7000 series tractor range.
The top-of-the-line model is the T7070, offering a rated 168kW engine with a boost capacity of 187kW.
New Holland has labelled the T7070 as the Auto Command and it has a maximum vehicle mass of 13,000kg as well as being capable of 50km/h road speed.
Don said the Sidewinder II armrest places most of the tractor's functions at the operator's finger tips.
"The ergonomic armrest and CVT is the next step in hi-tech tractor capabilities," Don said.
"With the CVT and Sidewinder II, there are three shuttling options.
"You can choose setting the joystick to control the tractor's movement or to being able to shuttle back and forth with a switch under the steering wheel.
"When it's in forced-base logic mode, the further forward you push the joystick, the faster the tractor will go, but the joystick offers more resistance to the pushing so you get a 'feel' for the speed of the tractor."
Don said there were also three front suspension options, which include standard, super steer and Terra Glide. The Terra Glide is required for the 50km/h road speed and incorporates an accelerometer in the nose of the tractor.
The accelerometer is linked via software to the tractor's hydraulics and counters the tractor pitching or diving under braking or acceleration.
For the braking system, the Auto Command uses a combination of an electronic park brake and New Holland's Active StopStart (with optional exhaust brake).
Active StopStart will hold the tractor on a steep slope without the need to disengage the drive train once the tractor comes to a standstill.
The T7070 is powered by a 6.7 litre, six-cylinder engine developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies. The motor is turbocharged and intercooled and features electronic fuel injection. It is also compliant to Tier three emissions regulations.
