The first Russian-made Versatile combine to come into the UK has had a good first season and is now on sale for next year’s harvest, says Lincolnshire importer James Hunt.

His company, JPM, is best known for selling the huge Versatile Delta-Track four-tracked tractor over the last 18 months. However he has now added the single-rotor Versatile RT490 combine to his product range and has been trialling it in the UK this summer.

While Russian combines aren’t exactly common in the UK (this is reckoned to be the first) they have been made there for many decades.

See also: Versatile combine could fuel tracked tractor sales

It’s a simple single-rotor machine, says Mr Hunt, with a 490hp Cummins six-cylinder engine and a 10,500cu m tank. There’s also an unusual concave that completely encloses the axial rotor and rotates in the opposite direction to it at eight revolutions a minute. The idea is that ears get thrashed three times and therefore give a cleaner sample.   

The cab is a relatively simple affair, with a joystick for the main functions and a touchpad for other items. Header options are 6, 7 and 9m. Price is expected to be about £160,000 and is likely to appeal to farms from 200ha to 600ha.