Honda’s Mean Mower V2 Powered By CBR1000RR Engine Aims To Crack 150 MPH

Lawn mowers aren’t made to go terribly fast. They move slowly, trimming the grass with precision. But Honda’s been on a campaign to change that.

The Japanese manufacturer set a new record for lawn mowers when it pushed its first Mean Mower to 116.57 miles per hour. But that record has since been beaten, so now it’s back with the second version that aims to go even faster. Much faster.

The result of a collaboration with its BTCC racing partner Team Dynamics, the Mean Mower V2 packs the 1.0-liter engine from a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP motorcycle, kicking out 190 horsepower at a screaming 13,000 rpm (but just 86 lb-ft/116 Nm of torque at 11,000 rpm).

That’d be plenty for some cars, but the ride-on mower weighs just 69.1 kilograms (152.3 pounds) to give it the same 1,000-hp/tonne power-to-weight ratio as some hypercars.

It also packs the six-speed transmission, clutch, ECU, and LCD screen from the Fireblade, a programmable shift system with carbon paddles, Sparco steering wheel, a 3D-printed airbox, the ten-inch wheels from a Goldspeed ATV, Hoosier slicks, and one heck of a braking system: four-pot calipers up front, six-pot at the back, gripped vented discs. All this mounted to a custom T45 steel chassis.

With all those upgrades, Honda figures its new Mean Mower will top 150 mph. All the while it still has to (technically) be able to cut grass, so it’s fitted with carbon-fiber blades, electric motors, and two batteries in a cutter deck modified to accommodate the chain drive to the rear wheels.

“The original Mean Mower was a great challenge for us and the result was an amazing machine,” said Honda UK managing director Dave Hodgetts. “This time we have moved the game on considerably to build an incredible piece of real engineering, using advanced design and production techniques and calling upon some very clever thinking to bring the performance and power but still retain the look of the production mower. We’re in testing phase now and everything is looking good, with a top speed of more than 150mph very much in our sights.”