Honda, as you might remember, spent an unspecified amount of time building and perfecting a super lawn mower that it believes could cut grass at 80km/h, probably for no reason other than giggles and a little press. That lawn mower, as it turns out, can reach 161km/h faster than the famed McLaren F1.
That only applies when it stays on the road, of course.
Because going after world records in otherwise impractical situations is a thing automakers like to do for fun, Honda set out for the Guinness World Record of fastest lawn mower acceleration to 161km/h with its Mean Mower. The mower meets the Guinness requirements for a mower, according to a video from Honda about the record, in that it “look[s] like a lawn mower” and is able to cut grass.
But aside from that, it’s a lightweight, purpose-built speed machine, featuring the engine from the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP motorcycle that makes more than 190 horsepower at 13,000 rpm. It can also get to a Guinness-certified 161km/h in 6.285 seconds, which is faster than the McLaren F1’s time of 6.3 seconds.
Of course, the McLaren F1, iconic as it is, is a car from the 1990s. In terms of modern cars, the Mean Mower is officially just over one second slower from a standstill to 161km/h than the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon—the 840-HP pinnacle of street-legal, from-the-factory drag-strip speed. The Demon takes a mere 5.1 seconds to get to 161km/h.
Basically, this lawn mower can beat most of the cars heading out to your local drag strip on Thursday nights to flex on everybody else. It’s humbling, really.
It also means that Honda got everything it could’ve ever wanted out of this little lawn mower that could: the press, and more importantly, the giggles.