Vive la France
Save money or opt for value for money? That was the question posed to farmers in the 1960s when purchasing one of Massey Ferguson’s smaller tractors. The De Luxe version of the French-built MF 130 with dual clutch cost £710 in December 1967, while the equivalent Massey Ferguson 135 would have set you back £850.
If you consider the cost per horsepower, the 130 worked out at £23.66 per single unit of power, whereas the 135 was just £18.68 per unit of horsepower. By way of comparison, the Massey Ferguson 165 cost £16.69 per unit of horsepower. Many farmers using such logic concluded that it made more sense to spend the extra money on a 135 and have an additional 15½hp on tap.
Putting all of this into context, it’s worth remembering that the 130 was an evolution of the MF 25, which could trace its
