The Mercedes-Benz MB-trac was something radically new when it was introduced a little more than 50 years ago. It was an evolution of the Unimog, a truck-based design that had initially been envisioned as an agricultural Jack-of-all-trades, with the MB-trac taking established fundamental tractor features and combining them with the sprung suspension and four-wheel drive of the Unimog to produce a bespoke agricultural machine.
From its first appearance, the MB-trac gradually evolved into a whole series of models, all sharing the unique features of the original. This series of articles will tell the story of this very different kind of tractor that was in production for nearly 20 years.
It has been rare in the modern history of the farm tractor for radically alternative designs to appear. Indeed, most tractors have followed the same design pattern, consisting of smaller front wheels than the back, a longitudinally mounted engine at the front, and a driving position over the rear axle.
In the early days, especially in the early 1900s, there was a great deal of experimentation, with many tricycle and other configurations of tractor appearing,
