(July 18, 2013) LONDON — In response to an as yet untapped requirement for extreme lawn-care equipment, TopGear Magazine has teamed up with Honda to produce just that — the MeanMower.

Loosely based on the Honda HF2620 ride-on, the MeanMower was stripped and re-built by Honda's British Touring Car experts at Team Dynamics, adding a space-frame chassis, a 1000cc Honda VTR Firestorm motorbike engine, bespoke suspension and tires from a racing ATV.



But despite looking like the standard mower, the Honda now produces 109 horsepower and 71 pound-feet of torque making it theoretically capable of zero to 60 mph in under four seconds, and a record-breaking top speed of around 130mph. And it still cuts grass.

The mower managed 100.03 mph on track at TopGear Magazine's annual Speed Week event — a tire-shredding test of 14 of the year's best performance machines. Watch the Stig drive it here.   

"With the TopGear lawn to mow and a Stig on the staff, it seemed perfectly normal to work with Honda to create this thing," said BBC TopGear Magazine's Piers Ward. "Though I have to say, having driven it, I've never been so terrified. It accelerates like a rocket and, like any mower, there aren't any seatbelts."

Ellie Ostinelli, Honda (UK) said; "Our brief was very straightforward — we wanted a super-fast lawnmower which retained the look of a mower, but above all else, it needed to still cut grass. Honda is a great believer in pushing boundaries…and we love a challenge!"

Team Dynamics team manager Peter Crolla added, "To our knowledge, this has never been done before, certainly using this mower/engine and Stig combination. Our biggest engineering challenge was the need to retain the look of the lawn mower and the ability to still cut grass. The engine's low weight and exceptionally accessible performance has been the key ingredient for the project."