A friend's father had one of these - http://www.tractorda...ere-b-engine.html
16 horsepower. 6.8 mph in 4th.
But it had a mountain of torque because it had two pistons that were about the size of trash cans. ;-)
Yeah, gearing can do a lot, but there are lots of advantages to big, slow motors in those applications.
Cheers,
Scott.