British engineering industrial vehicle builder
JCB has set a new world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered internal combustion vehicle, with its JCB Hydromax achieving an average speed of 406.320mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
The car reached 400.623mph on its first run and 412.135mph on its second, producing the record average under FIA rules, which require two runs in opposite directions within one hour. Driven by Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, the 32-foot, twin-engined vehicle comfortably surpassed the previous FIA-recognised hydrogen internal combustion record of 185.5mph, set by BMW’s H2R in 2004. The result remains subject to official ratification by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
In setting the record, JCB Hydromax also exceeded the 350.092mph world diesel land speed record achieved by JCB Dieselmax at the same location in 2006, again with Green at the wheel. Two decades later, JCB has surpassed its own benchmark with an engine technology that produces no CO₂ emissions at the tailpipe. The speed also eclipses the recognised hydrogen fuel cell mark of 303mph, making JCB Hydromax the fastest hydrogen-powered vehicle of any type.
The record was achieved in the FIA Category A, Group XIV, Class 7 World Flying Start Land Speed Record category using two production-based hydrogen engines developed by JCB. Together they produce 1,600bhp and are manufactured at the company’s engine factory in Foston, Derbyshire. The same engines are already being fitted to JCB machines and equipment as part of the company’s £100 million investment in hydrogen technology.
JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford, who has spearheaded the company’s hydrogen engine programme and proposed the record attempt last year, 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.”
Highlighting the significance of using production-based technology, Lord Bamford added: “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.”
Green, who remains the only person to have broken the sound barrier on land and still holds the outright land speed record of 763.035mph, praised the performance of the vehicle. He said: “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.”
He added that setting a hydrogen-powered record 20 years after the Dieselmax achievement was “a huge privilege” and described it as “a huge achievement by a world-class team and superb technology”.
JCB Engineering Director Ryan Ballard, who led the project, said the accomplishment reflected the work of a dedicated engineering team. “This record belongs to the engineering team which took a hydrogen digger engine and made it the fastest of its kind on earth,” he said. “We came here fully prepared, and the car delivered.”
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem described the achievement as “a truly historic milestone for motorsport”, adding that it demonstrated how “innovation, performance, speed, and sustainability can go hand in hand”. He said the record highlighted the potential of hydrogen combustion technology and continued motorsport’s long tradition of driving technological progress.
The achievement follows another milestone for the project. During Bonneville Speed Week, organised by the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), JCB Hydromax reached 368.347mph to establish a new SCTA record in the Blown Gas Streamliner class. The run was regarded as a major step in the car’s development before the FIA attempt.
The success comes ahead of the opening of JCB’s new $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, which is expected to employ 1,500 people manufacturing machines for the US market. The company has a history of record-breaking speed achievements. Alongside the Dieselmax record, which still stands, the JCB Fastrac became the world’s fastest tractor at 135.191mph in 2019, while the JCB GT established a backhoe loader speed record of 72.58mph in 2014.
With Hydromax now holding the title of the world’s fastest hydrogen-powered vehicle, JCB has added another chapter to its record-breaking motorsport and engineering history while showcasing the potential of hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion technology.