JCB has once again set a new world record, this time achieving the land speed record with a hydrogen-powered combustion engine. On Tuesday 11 August, the JCB Hydromax achieved an average speed of 653.908km/h (406.320mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, making it the fastest-ever land speed recorded by a hydrogen combustion engine.

The car was driven by retired RAF Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, who achieved a top speed of 663.266km/h (412.135mph) and an average speed 653.908km/h (406.320mph) across two runs in opposite directions within an hour, as required by rules set out by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). This result surpasses the previous hydrogen-internal combustion engine land speed record of 298.533km/h (185.5mph), set by the BMW H2R in 2004 and hydrogen fuel cell land speed record of 487.631km/h (303mph).

Measuring 32ft long, the Hydromax car features two of JCB’s own production-based hydrogen engines, producing a combined 1,600bhp. As part of the company’s £100m hydrogen programme, the engines are built at the company’s engine factory in Foston, Derbyshire, UK. They share their origins with the hydrogen engines now being fitted within JCB construction machinery. Not only has it twin engines, but also twin transmissions, meaning that both the front and rear axles are independently driven.

The achievement happens 20 years on from when JCB broke the land speed record for a diesel engine with its Dieselmax car on the same salt flats in August 2006, a record that still stands. Also driven by Andy Green, the Dieselmax achieved 563.418km/h (350.092mph). Between experience gained from the Dieselmax project and dramatic technology improvements since, the Hydromax is much more advanced. One such example is a 10% improvement in drag. During development, every part of the car was stress and simulation tested using the latest technology.

“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,” explained JCB chairman Anthony Bamford, who proposed the world record attempt early last year.

“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.”

“Motorsport has always been a catalyst for technological progress, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. This new land speed record continues this tradition, showcasing the potential of hydrogen combustion for the future of sustainable mobility," outlined FIA president HE Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Wing Commander Andy Green is the fastest man on earth at 763.035mph (1,227.985km/h), the only person to break the sound barrier on land.

The hydrogen record comes ahead of the opening of JCB’s new $500m factory in San Antonio, Texas, which will employ 1,500 people manufacturing machines for the US market. JCB previously used record attempts to showcase its world-class engineering, with the JCB Fastrac becoming the world’s fastest tractor at 217.568km/h (135.191mph) in 2019, and the JCB GT having set the backhoe loader record at 116.806km/h (72.58mph) in 2014.