Two years after production of the Katana 85 came to an end, Fendt has introduced a new flagship 850 model with a healthy 847hp on tap.

However, unlike its predecessor, which generated roughly the same power from a 21-litre V12 engine, the 850 manages to eke this from a far more compact in-line six – albeit one with an 18-litre displacement.

In a departure from MTU, the new power plant comes from fellow German brand Liebherr, which also provides the 970hp V12 used in John Deere’s 9000-series harvesters.

See also: Driver’s view: Mark Bates’ Fendt Slicer triple mower

To reduce maintenance and engine bay clutter, the compact block meets the latest emissions regs solely with a selective catalytic reduction setup, meaning there is no need for exhaust gas recirculation or a diesel particulate filter.

It also has a fuel-saving economy mode that reduces engine power in lighter crops without dropping the speed of the chopping cylinder.

Like the smaller Katana 650, which was launched in 2020, the 850 comes with Fendt’s so-called CropFlow 2.0 system.

This starts with six rollers that compress the crop, before feeding it into a large 720mm drum available with 20, 28 or 40 knives that deliver chop lengths from 2.6mm to 41mm.

Three corn crackers are available – all of which are 300mm in diameter – and they have a large speed differential to grind grains and remove fibre from woody stems.

The cracker unit is engaged and disengaged using a ratchet mechanism in a bid to make it easy to switch between chopping maize and grass.

Finally, a powerful discharge fan pushes the chopped material up the chute, which has a 210deg swivel angle and automatic flap system that moves depending on the angle of the ejection arc.

Power and throughput are sufficient to support a 12-row Kemper 490plus maize header, which is suspended on the Katana’s pendulum frame to help it follow ground contours.

Optional extras include a near-infrared sensor for measuring crop quality, an integrated additive system with 215-litre tank, and all-wheel drive with traction control.

Retail price of the Katana 850 is £559,908 and it is available to order now.