THE HISTORY • THE BEAST • THE FILM
Here sits an Islay tractor. Forgotten? Forlorn? Not a bit of it. As all Islay farmers know, this mighty machine will roar into life at the drop of a hat, and get to work heaving blocks of pungent peat from the ground. And as all Ardbeg fans know, you can’t make the peatiest malt on Islay without a hefty heap of peat.
(T)RUSTY TRACTOR, WE SALUTE YOU
It’s fair to say that tractors are the backbone of Islay agricultural activities, and indeed, our very own Mickey Heads took his first driving lesson astride a treasured Massey Ferguson.
So here at Ardbeg, we feel the time has come to honour these oft-overlooked heroes of the peat bogs. In between shifts, we’ve been tinkering away in our workshop, waggling wires and polishing pistons under the tutelage of mechanical genius Paul Burnham, one of the UK’s top rod and custom car builders, to create… the ultimate Ardbeggian vehicle – the Ardbeg Hot Rod Tractor!
We hope you dig it.
THE BEAST
Ardbeg is no ordinary whisky. And this is no ordinary tractor. It’s bigger. And shinier. With more power. And more roar.
Building on the classic 1959 Massey Ferguson 35 chassis, so beloved of Islay famers and distillery workers, this is a one-of-a-kind, custom built, chrome clad model of dazzling proportions.
TALKING THE TORQUE
Here are the specifications you’ll need to impress fellow TracTOURists out on the road:
• 1959 Massey Ferguson 35 chassis
• 546 bhp
• 604 lb/ft of torque
• 8.2 litre V8 supercharged engine
• 8 custom configuration pipes
• Weight: 2 tonnes
• Rear wheel height: 4.5ft / 137cm (equivalent to 4.7 bottles of Ardbeg)
• Colour: Ardbeg green, gold and chrome
• Detailing: branded grill, bodywork and embroidered leather driver and passenger seats