Many people have never seen a Lanz Bulldog tractor, let alone heard of one. I first came across the Lanz as a 13 year old on a campsite in the Loire Valley in France. My family had befriended our German camping neighbours, and one evening the father of the German family, Hansi, (Johnny) on learning of my keen interest in tractors, was explaining to me in his broken English about his tractor.
The term ‘Bulldog’ stuck in my head, and his animated explanation of the noise of the single cylinder engine making a ‘put-put-put’ sound still brings a smile to my face over 25 years later. While I have seen images online, I was most intrigued at my first up close encounter of the example I came across at this years Innishannon Vintage and Steam Rally.
Heinrich Lanz unveiled his first Lanz Bulldog tractor in 1921. The tractor was powered by a single cylinder, horizontal, two stroke, hot bulb engine which could run on almost any combustible fuel. The ‘bulb’ was first heated till it glowed white hot, then the engine was cranked by hand to start. Later models, were started using petrol using an electric coil, then switched over to diesel, similar in principle to the Ferguson 20 TVO. The tractor inherits the name bulldog from the shape of the top of the cylinder head which had a likeness to the nose of the canine.
Heinreich Lanz was so confident in his design that he orchestrated three Bulldogs to drive just over 1000km from his factory in Mannheim to Berlin, a journey which took his team 17 days driving but also proved both the simplicity and reliability of his design.
The Bulldog pictured is a D2016, one of the very late models produced. It features a solely diesel 2.3l engine, complete with glow plug for starting, producing 20hp. It has a 6F/2R gearbox and features a three-point hydraulic linkage, as well an optional independent PTO. The tractor tips the scales at 1.4 tons. However, there is a little more to the story below the surface. In 1956, the 200,000th Bulldog was manufactured, in the same year that John Deere acquired a majority shareholding in the company. From 1958, all Bulldogs were sold in John Deere green and yellow. Honing in on the loyal Lanz following gave John Deere a foothold in Europe, and with the obvious advantages of multi cylinder engines, the Lanz name was made redundant, replaced by John Deere who still have their European headquarters and manufacturing plants at Mannheim. In 2023, John Deere’s two millionth tractor, a 6R250, rolled off the Mannheim production line. The factory employs over 3,300 people, producing more than 40,000 tractors per year.
Contact Peter at psob1987@
gmail.com or see Instagram @
flashphotoscork
