Ten years on, "The Tractor That Doesn't Exist" still exists

It was never put into series production. Only one was ever built. Yet it has drawn crowds for ten years. In autumn 2016, Swedish spare parts company Olsson Parts unveiled the 7664 for the first time. Today it draws just as many people as it did then.

What if …
It all started with a simple question: What would a Volvo BM look like if production hadn't ended in 1985? The build took a year. It was based on a used chassis and Olsson Parts' own spare parts. The rest came down to modern design, craftsmanship and a good dose of imagination. The result was quickly given a name: "The Tractor That Doesn't Exist".

From Sweden to the rest of Europe
After its premiere at Elmia, a major Swedish agricultural fair, the tractor set off across Europe. It has been shown at fairs and exhibitions in Denmark, Norway and Germany. The reaction has been the same everywhere: people stop, ask questions and take photos.

Close to half a million views
The film about the build reached several hundred thousand views on YouTube and Facebook within its first 24 hours. Today it is approaching half a million. It is still finding new viewers. The press gave it column after column, and for a while it was almost impossible to mention Olsson Parts without the tractor coming up.

Not a museum piece
The 7664 is not in a museum – at least not yet. It is still at Olsson Parts in Ellös, on the island of Orust on Sweden's west coast, ready to work. Among other things, it has helped bring in the hay harvest on the island. It is not a show model wheeled out once a year. It gets used.

"The first time we showed it, we saw how people reacted. We never expected the reaction to be the same ten years later. The tractor played a big part in putting us on the map in the industry, outside Sweden too," says Håkan Ekstrand, CEO of Olsson Parts.

This autumn, the anniversary is being celebrated at the same fair where the tractor made its debut: Elmia Lantbruk in Jönköping, Sweden.