“The moment this deal came up, it was clear we wanted to be in control of what our truck looked like,” says Watson. “What we don’t have is 30 years of experience of designing monster trucks. When we first put pen to paper, we had some really extreme ideas, with big buckets and diggers, but Bill took us through what these trucks need to do.”
Or as Easterly puts it: “For the first 90 days, we could have been wearing sumo wrestling suits while trying to make a truck that everybody agreed was cool and met JCB’s needs. The back and forth was amazing. But it was really worth it, because the end result is amazing.”
Watson notes that “we wanted a truck that didn’t just manifest the brand but really showed what JCB is”, adding: “My job is about creating fantastic machines, and the challenge in developing a diverse range of machines is making them feel like a family.”
Some of the initial back and forth was over practicality: monster truck bodies have to be built to withstand the rigours of competition.
Digatron driver Tristan England (who despite the name is from Texas, as his ever-present cowboy hat suggests) specialises in balancing his truck on its nose, so Digatron needed a blunt front end to avoid it being ripped off.
Still, you can recognisably see a front scoop (albeit with added monster teeth) and the outline of a backhoe digger, making it clear the machine is a JCB. “We wanted to build on our heritage,” confirms Watson.
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