JCB targets hydrogen land speed record with Hydromax racer

Twenty years after setting a diesel land speed benchmark, construction equipment manufacturer JCB is returning to the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah with a new goal – setting a hydrogen-powered speed record.

The British manufacturer has unveiled the JCB Hydromax, a 32-foot (9.75m) land speed car powered by its own hydrogen combustion technology and designed to showcase the performance potential of hydrogen engines beyond the construction industry.

The project follows five years of development and a £100 million investment into hydrogen internal combustion technology, with JCB recently beginning production of hydrogen-powered construction machinery.

JCB is targeting a speed beyond 350mph (563km/h), eclipsing the figure achieved by its JCB Dieselmax car in 2006, which set a world diesel land speed record of 350.092mph — a record that still stands today.

Behind the wheel once again will be pilot and land speed legend Andy Green, who also drove Dieselmax during its successful record attempt.

“Twenty years ago, JCB took two of its diesel engines, sprinkled some magic engineering dust on them and put them into a racing car,” Green said.

“Today, that car is still the fastest diesel-engined vehicle in history.

“Now we're going back to the Bonneville Salt Flats with JCB's new hydrogen engines.

“The JCB Hydromax car is lighter, more powerful and faster than its predecessor of 20 years ago.”

JCB chairman, Anthony Bamford, said the project was designed not only to chase outright speed but also to demonstrate the capabilities of hydrogen as a viable low-emissions power source.

“JCB Dieselmax was always a bit of an unusual idea – but it proved a point,” Bamford said.

“Putting an advanced engine into a land-speed car showed the world what it could do in a way a digger never could.

“It’s the same thinking with hydrogen today. If you're serious about emissions, you have to be serious about hydrogen.”

Hydromax will run twin production-based hydrogen engines producing a combined 1600bhp, with testing beginning in the UK before heading to Bonneville SpeedWeek in August.

The latest attempt adds to JCB’s long list of speed achievements. In 2019, the company’s Fastrac tractor claimed the title of world’s fastest tractor at 135.191mph (217.5km/h), while its GT backhoe loader set a speed record of 72.58mph (116.8km/h) in 2014.