The mowing of grass and grain was one of the most strenuous and, during the hay harvest, the most demanding farm work in terms of human and animal power. As early as 1920, Jakob Fahrni, a farmer's son, put his idea for the development of the motor mower on paper and registered it with the patent office. The patent idea consisted of using an engine as the source of drive for the cutter bar and replacing the power expenditure of the horse for pulling the machine. At the same time, Jakob Fahrni was also looking for interested parties who were willing to provide the necessary funds to finance the manufacture and distribution.

After a few start-up difficulties, "Rapid Motormäher AG" was founded in 1926 with its headquarters in Zurich and thus produced the world's first 50 motor mowers, which were further developed from the ideas of Jakob Fahrni. After a short time, the other advantages of the Rapid motor mower were quickly discovered and the machine was used to drive various implements. After the development of the first powerful single-axle tractor, the M model, in 1934, the Rapid Standard model followed in 1949 and the development of the single-axle tractor, the Rapid Special model, was completed in 1954.  

With the Rapid Special single-axle tractor in combination with the PTO-driven trailer, a very off-road four-wheel transport vehicle for mountain farming was created for the first time. Thus, from this point on, a new era of mountain mechanization began. From the beginning of the 1960s, however, the single-axle tractors with drive axle trailers were increasingly replaced by the more modern transporters and off-road tractors. The Rapid Special was one of the best-selling single-axle tractors in Switzerland, produced in several thousand units until 1975.