British engineering giant JCB has set a new world land speed record of 406.320 mph with its hydrogen-powered JCB Hydromax. The car recorded an average speed of 400.623 mph on its first run across the Bonneville Salt Flats, and 412.135 mph on its second, giving an average of 406.320 mph, the fastest a hydrogen internal combustion car has ever travelled.
Driven by the Wing Commander Mr. Andy Green OBE, the twin-engined, 32-foot car completed the two runs required under FIA rules, one in each direction within an hour, comfortably beating the previous FIA-officiated hydrogen internal combustion benchmark of 185.5 mph set by the BMW H2R in 2004. The record is subject to official ratification by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
In doing so, JCB Hydromax surpassed the 350.092 mph world diesel land speed record set by JCB Dieselmax, also driven by Green, on the same salt flats in August 2006. Twenty years on, JCB has beaten its own benchmark with an engine that produces no CO2 at the tailpipe. The speed also exceeds the 303 mph hydrogen fuel cell mark, making JCB Hydromax the fastest hydrogen-powered vehicle of any kind in history.
The record, set in Category A, Group XIV, Class 7 of the FIA World Flying Record Start Land Speed Record, was achieved using two of JCB’s own production-based hydrogen digger engines, producing a combined 1,600 bhp and manufactured at the company’s engine factory in Foston, Derbyshire, UK. These are the same engines currently powering JCB machines and equipment as part of the company’s £100 million hydrogen programme.
Lord Bamford, JCB Chairman, who has led the company’s hydrogen engine project and conceived the record bid early last year, said that twenty years after JCB Dieselmax showcased British engineering with diesel power, JCB has done it again with hydrogen, using production-based engines that power JCB diggers today.
Mr. Green called Bonneville the spiritual home of the world land speed record, describing the car as stable, strong, and fast, and calling the achievement a huge privilege built on world-class engineering. The JCB Engineering Director Mr. Ryan Ballard, who led the project, said the record belongs to the engineering team that turned a hydrogen digger engine into the fastest of its kind on earth.
Mr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA, called the record a historic milestone for motorsport, showcasing how innovation, performance, speed, and sustainability can work together, and thanked the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States for its support during the attempt.
Mr. Green, the fastest man on earth at 763.035 mph and the only person to break the sound barrier on land, also drove JCB Dieselmax to its 350.092 mph world diesel land speed record at Bonneville in August 2006, a record that still stands. Last week, JCB Hydromax broke through the 368.347 mph barrier at Bonneville Speed Week, setting a new SCTA record in the Blown Gas Streamliner class.
The record comes ahead of the opening of JCB’s new $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, which will employ 1,500 people manufacturing machines for the US market. JCB has a history of speed records, with the JCB Fastrack becoming the world’s fastest tractor at 135.191 mph in 2019, and the JCB GT setting the backhoe loader record at 72.58 mph in 2014.