Antique Versatile Tractors
Versatile is a Canadian agricultural company that was started by Peter Pakosh and Roy Robinson in the 1960s. Versatile was the first company that mass-produced articulated four-wheel drive tractors. The D100 and G100 were modernized, and had either a 6-cylinder diesel engine or an 8-cylinder gasoline engine, each producing 100 horsepower. Four-wheel drive tractors were increasing in demand, and Versatile’s sales therefore increased as well. They continued improving their models, and by the late 1970s, Versatile was offering tractors with a horsepower of 220 to 330. They extended that even further, to 470hp, in the 1980s.
Ford New Holland purchased Versatile in 1987, and by 1989, the tractors were painted in Ford colors, and were using the name Ford Versatile. Blue four-wheel drive New Holland tractors were produced until 2000. Buhler Industries from Canada bought the New Holland four-wheel drive plant that is in Winnipeg in 2001, and began using the Versatile name again. High Horsepower Series tractors were released in 2004 with horsepowers of 435hp, 485hp, and 535hp, which was the most powerful four-wheel drive tractor available in North America. Russian combine manufacturer Rostselmash Limited purchased 80% of the shares in 2007, and planned to increase availability of Buhler Versatile four-wheel tractors worldwide.