I am definitely a city girl, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate something as bad ass as a Formula 1 car entirely built out of tractor components.
This chimera of epic proportions comes from the tractor manufacturer the Minsk Tractor Factory in Belarus. The company calls it the MTZ 50 Formula 1, according to the Autopian, and it looks fun as hell. I bet it would sound like a bear attempting to swallow several pissed off cats whole on the track. But alas, despite Belarus dictator Alexander Loukachenko claiming he drove it at nearly 200 mile per hour, it seems the MTZ 50 is merely a show car, the Minsk Tractor Factory confirmed via Facebook. (I know, I’m surprised Loukachenko would lie about something as well.)
Which is too bad, because there is something so satisfyingly solid about the MTZ 50. All the parts on this F1 show car come directly from the factory’s actual manufacturing line, which makes its approximation to open-wheeled race cars even more astonishing. Minsk Tractor Factory got damn close using nothing but tractor parts and, while F1 cars might be pretty and fast, this is a rig that looks like it has to work for a living. The MTZ 50 was first shown back in 2019 at an agricultural trade show called Belagro 2019, but it’s making the rounds again on the internet.
The company also built a motorcycle entirely out of tractor parts, though this vehicle is more obviously just for entertainment purposes:
It would certainly make an interesting twist for the Netflix show Formula 1: Drive to Survive if it had a more rural, former Soviet bloc type feel. Imagine Max Verstappen feeding ducks and then rushing out to harvest a field of wheat faster than Sergio Perez. The paddocks are just actual fields where horses hang out. Pit crews could all be in overalls and flannel, and instead of wild parties, drivers would have to go to bed by 8 p.m so they can get up and do the whole thing the next day.