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New Case IH Magnum cab overhauled
Case IH will be showing a new version of the popular 'Magnum' heavy tractor series in February, which will also arrive in Europe after the US launch. In the new model, the cabin and controls are completely overhauled.
Manufacturers these days join the rumor mill as much as mechanization fanatics scour the net for photos and technical details. For example, January 11, a 'official teaser' from a US dealer of Case IH on Youtube. Case IH itself also showed images. Thanks to this video, we know one thing: a new ministry is coming. In December, a photo of a new operating concept suddenly surfaced. That turned out not to be a fabrication.
Magnum
The current series dates from 2014 and has 5 models. Together with the blue counterpart T8 (New Holland), it is the only standard tractor that can be ordered ex works on tracks. The name is mainly synonymous with the heavy wheel tractors of the brand. Not many of these tractors are sold in the Netherlands and Belgium; they are intended to make large hectares with large implements and are less suitable for transport. Especially with the arrival of the compact Optum, its role with contract workers has been reduced. It will be especially interesting for the Netherlands when the new controls on the smaller Puma and Maxxum become available.
Most striking is the new terminal, which replaces the current AFS Pro 700. The screen is quite a bit wider and resembles the large Trimble terminal. The handling is also clearly different. Not so strange, because the current software users have a lot to criticize.
luxury car
The fixed drive lever of fake chrome remained, but with more buttons. The 2 slides for hand throttle and setting the cruise are gone. There is a good chance that 1 of the 2 large scroll wheels will take over that function, just like you see on luxury (German) cars. Furthermore, it is all about details. The interior looks like fresh brown leather, there is a wiper on the right and so on. The typical American red leather chair remained.
The Magnum drivers are used to having to do without a dashboard. You will find all digital and analog clocks in a hefty A-pillar. On the 2020 Magnum, a chic LCD display replaces that; you will find things about transmission, fluid levels and speed, for example.
What the cabin will look like from the outside remains to be seen for the time being. It is clear that the new and aggressive Case nose is integrated into the subject. The Optum started the tradition and the autonomous concept, which the manufacturer showed in 2016, also had such a design.
Auto?
That autonomous tractor is still a thing. When the brand showed the tractor at Sima in 2017, CEO Andreas Klauser announced that he would be launching autonomous vehicle technology on the production model within 3 years. Is it a reason why the new model's tagline is 'Freedom is coming'?
Without getting bogged down in theories, we now have to wait until February 13. On that date, Case IH will be showing the Magnum for the first time (at World Ag Expo in California). However, to see the tractor here you'll have to wait until the Agritechnica, as Case IH skips the Sima. At that fair you will find the Versum CVX. This is a small and luxurious 4-cylinder with CVT transmission. New Holland showed him at the Eima last fall. The Magnum will be available from 2020.
Competitor response
New Holland also shows a official teaser of their new T8, albeit less radically changed. Especially the terminal seems to be modified. It is only a matter of time that a blue variant is on the way. In America, the 8R is the big competitor; it dates from 2013 and will receive an update sooner or later. Starting with the CommandPro joystick, which is already available on the 6R. It will be interesting what red and green will do to trump each other.
Niels van der Boom
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