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The Amazon Pantera 4504 with a 4,500-liter tank has been around since 2021. About twenty of them have been sold in the Netherlands. Farmers and contractors looking for a self-propelled tractor with a larger tank had to turn to a competitor or opt for a trailed Amazon. After all, the German manufacturer supplies these with tanks up to 12,000 liters in the colossal tandem UX11201.

Due to its compact construction, a larger tank on the 4504 was not an option. Therefore, Amazon decided to build a completely new self-propelled harvester: the Pantera 7004 with a tank capacity of 7,000 liters (6,600 liters usable) and 500 liters of clean water. LandbouwMechanisatie took a test drive with a sample from the zero series on the test track at the Amazon factory in Leipzig (D). The machine itself will soon be built in Bramsche (D). That is where the manufacturer builds all of its sprayers, with the exception of the simple UG.

Meter extra

In terms of tank capacity, the Pantera 7004 falls in the same segment as the Delvano Eurotrac (with optional 7,000-liter tank) and Horsch Leep PT and just between the Agrifac Condor Vanguard (6,000 liters) and Agrifac Condor Endurance II (8,000 liters). So really a hefty tank. The top model is a meter longer than its little brother: 10 meters in total. Still, the 7004 looks relatively compact for such a large self-propelled harvester. The empty weight increased by 1,600 kg. Depending on the boom chosen, the weight distribution is still 50 percent on the front and 50 percent on the rear axle. Whereas the 4504 has the two axles connected to one cylinder to adjust the track width, the front and rear axles of the 7004 each have their own extendable axles. This allows you to maintain a different track width on the front axle than on the rear axle. Then front and rear wheels do not have to travel through the same track. As standard, the track width is adjustable from 200 to 275 cm. In the future, 3 meters will also be possible. Maximum tire width is 710 mm and maximum height is 2,050 mm. Automatic levelling for the chassis will also be available, but it was not yet mounted on the test specimen. That leveling is useful on slopes - tank and cab are then always level.

Spray booms from 24 to 48 meters are available
Comfort filling with Twin terminal

The Comfort package was installed on this sprayer with a seven-position valve for selecting pump functions. The screen allows you to stop or pause the pump after a set volume.

Boom widths

The L2 and L3 trees have aluminum ends. The former folds up in three sections (24-28 meters) or in four sections (27-36 meters). The L3 boom does so in three (30-36 meters) or four sections (39-48 meters).

Buyers can choose from L2 and L3 spray booms with working widths from 24 to 48 meters that fold up in three or four sections. For nozzles, there is the standard system with sections or Amaswitch (electric shut-off per nozzle) or Amaselect with full automatic nozzle selection. With the latter, the machine independently chooses which (combination of) nozzles to use. This comes in handy with varying driving speeds, varying dosage or with Curvecontrol (dosage adjustment in curves) where the spray boom switches between the different nozzles at lightning speed, preventing under- and over-dosage. In addition, thanks to the cap spacing of 25 cm, Amaselect Row offers the possibility of spraying only on top of the back - a row sprayer. This reduces resource consumption.

Balancing the spray boom the Pantera has mastered well

As a power source, Amazon uses the 7.8-liter Deutz TCD L6 engine that delivers 225 kW (306 hp) in this configuration. The hydraulically driven coolers sit diagonally behind the cab where they don't collect dust.

Claas cab

The Pantera 7004 gets Claas' new Vista-Cab X11. This offers great visibility and is very quiet. A Kat. 4 carbon filter fitted. Under passenger seat is a large cooling compartment. The armrest and instrumentation is Amazon's own. The Amadrive Display houses the dashboard and various machine functions such as cruise control and track width adjustment, for example. The drive lever with which you control the hydrostatic transmission (standard 40, optional 50 km/h) is the same as the manufacturer uses on its other sprayers. Amazon's own Amatron 4 terminal suffices as standard. For those who want to drive on rtk, Amazon works with Topcon, but other Western European GPS providers are also enabled on the Pantera.

New top model

Amazon's largest Pantera is on VF 520/85R46 tires from Alliance. The coolers of the Deutz engine are half behind the cab. Amazon buys this cab from Claas. There is room under the cab to carry resources. The driver can choose two-wheel, four-wheel or crab steering (dog walk).

Claas Vista-Cab X11

On top of the new Claas cab is a large row of working lights for perfect visibility in the dark. The accommodation is pretty quiet.

Amadrive

The small Amadrive screen houses the dashboard and machine functions. The isobus spray computer is from Topcon.

Different track widths

It is possible to keep a different track width on the rear axle than on the front axle.

Driving the Pantera is almost child's play: the good visibility and the pleasant operation of the hydrostat make the large machine yet nimble. Braking on the hydrostat is done by pulling back on the travel lever. For emergency braking, there are four large hydraulic disc brakes.

It is extraordinarily impressive when we drive the 7004 along the test track with hefty bumps. The boom stabilization ensures that the bumps have hardly any effect on the spray boom and the spray boom height remains almost the same everywhere - even with a lowered boom height (25 cm cap distance). 'Our' machine was therefore equipped with active balance control with six ultrasonic sensors. When these detect a hill in front of the spray boom, the Pantera briefly pulls the boom up in a split second (but just in time). To prevent the end of spray boom from swinging back and forth, swinging is actively counteracted with Swingstop to prevent under- and over-dosing.

Filling

For filling, Amazon uses the same controls as on the UX models and the Pantera 4504. The base version has the Comfort Package with a seven-position lever to control pumps and taps. A display (with physical buttons) controls automatic functions of the pump. These include automatic fill exit, stirring pressure control and cleaning functions. In the Comfort-Plus package, the tap has been replaced by a touchscreen that also allows, for example, multiple filling profiles to be created. The keg cleaner is easily accessible and has some practical items on board for cleaning kegs. If the standard 290-liter fuel tank is enough, there is plenty of room under the cab for carrying pesticides. The optional 110-liter auxiliary fuel tank otherwise snuffs out some of that space. The spray pump delivers 260 l/min and the agitator pump 350 liters per minute. With the optional Highflow+ you can combine both pumps when spraying 400 l/min: useful for high rates of pouring, large working widths and higher travel speeds when spraying.

Amaselect

With Amaselect, the right cap can be selected electrically. The machine can also do this fully automatically based on desired application rate and pressure range.

The Amazon Pantera 7004 will be available starting in April from around 400,000 euros. Our copy with rtk-gps, 36 meter L3 boom with Contour Control, Swingstop and Amaselect costs around 475,000 euros. The first Dutch specimen sold will be delivered soon.

Double sliding axle

On the new Pantera, the front and rear axles have their own sliding axles. That makes two different track widths possible.

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