John Deere enjoyed great success in the Irish market with their 50 series tractors, complete with the love-orloathed-SG2 cabs.
However, by the turn of the 90’s the models not only looked dated in comparison to their competitors but also fell behind in terms of horsepower, lift and oil flow capacity.
However, John Deere were poised to pull their trump card: the Mannheim built 6000 series.
Released in 1992, the lineup consisted of the short wheel base, four cylinder 6100-6400, and the long wheel-base six cylinder 6506-6900.
A bit of an oddity, the 6506 was the only naturally aspirated six-pot in the line; the 6800 used the same 6.8l PowerTech engine, in turbocharged form.
The range topping 130hp 6900 emerged from behind the curtain in 1994. Another anomaly was the 6600, which employed a 5.9l PowerTech engine.
Providing strength, while saving on weight, the new full-frame chassis design was fundamental to the all-new ground up engineering of the 6000 series.
Unlike previous conventional designs, the engine and gearbox are not structural elements of the frame.
They bear no load or stress, and therefore could be made lighter, while also making the frame very adaptable for front loaders and linkage.
Not as heavily built as its two larger siblings, the 6600 still packs a similar punch.
The 5.9l engine produces 110hp. Lift capacity is a highly impressive 6.2t. 40km PowerQuad is the most common transmission fitted to Irish 6600s providing 20F/20R or 24F/24R.
A park gear is also incorporated into the gearbox, while the new oil immersed PermaClutch2 boosted its durability.
A manual shuttle provided easy directional changes and an optional electric, steering console mounted shuttle was later available.
This gearbox is simplistic, yet highly functional. So successful in fact, that it has seen in service for six subsequent series of John Deere tractors, for almost 30 years, receiving improvements along the way.
Fitted with the newly-designed six pillar TechCentre cab, the 6600 boasts 310 degrees of visibility.
The cab is located forward of the rear axle, providing straight forward seamless entry to the two-door cab via three inline steps, both notable improvements on the SG cab.
The cab layout is excellent, with a full adjustable steering console and easy to reach gear levers, while the side console houses all instruments in an uncluttered and logical fashion, with the newly designed half-moon shaped lift controls with optional headland management being most noteworthy.
Sometimes overlooked, the 6600 was a ground breaking tractor, spearheading an all new design, firmly putting John Deere on the podium in the Irish tractor market.
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