JCB sets new world land speed record with hydrogen-powered Hydromax

JCB has achieved a new world land speed record with a run in its hydrogen-powered Hydromax.

Set at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, the record saw the Hydromax achieve 406.320mph, measured as an average from two high-speed runs. It’s the fastest that a hydrogen internal combustion car has ever gone.

The first saw the Hydromax reach 400.623mph, while a later run saw the vehicle hit 412.135 mph, which, when averaged, reached that figure of 406.320mph.

With Andy Green OBE – the only person to break the sound barrier on land – behind the wheel, the 32-foot car beat the previous official hydrogen internal combustion speed record by some measure. Set in 2004, it saw a BMW H2R reach 185.5mph.

This latest record also means that the Hydromax has overtaken the 350.092mph set by the JCB Dieselmax in 2006.

The Hydromax is driven by two hydrogen-powered engines that JCB also uses in its commercial diggers. Combined, they produce 1,600bhp.

Lord Anthony Bamford, JCB Chairman, said: “Twenty years ago we came to Bonneville with JCB Dieselmax and showed what British engineering could do with diesel power. Today we have done it again — this time with engines powered by hydrogen.

“This record was set by production-based engines, the same engines powering JCB diggers right now. That is the point of JCB Hydromax: it shows hydrogen works, and it works today at the highest level with zero emissions.”

Andy Green added: “Bonneville is the spiritual home of the world land speed record, and JCB Hydromax has just written itself into that history. The car was terrific — stable, strong and fast. Setting a world land speed record with hydrogen power, twenty years after Dieselmax, is a huge privilege. This record is a huge achievement by a world class team and superb technology.”