Baby of the bunch

The Massey Ferguson 500 Series, launched in the mid 1970s, was born largely out of necessity – with forthcoming legislation dictating that a new range of tractors was required to meet the stringent cab noise level at the driver’s ear, together with enhanced rollover protection.

Introduced earlier, the Frenchbuilt MF 595 provided clues as to what the rest of the range would look like – with two-tone colour scheme and single-door cab. It was the cab that was the most unfamiliar aspect of these new models, as most other elements could be classed as evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

The 595, powered by the Perkins A4.318, was rated at 88hp (DIN), but with tractors producing as little as 45hp still commonplace on farms across the globe, Massey Ferguson