Overview
- JCB’s Hydromax completed two opposite‑direction runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats, which took place on Tuesday, and recorded speeds of 400.623 mph and 412.135 mph for a two‑run average of 406.320 mph reported as a provisional FIA land speed record.
- The streamliner is driven by Wing Commander Andy Green and powered by two production‑derived 4.8‑litre hydrogen internal‑combustion engines tuned to about 800 bhp each for a combined output of roughly 1,600 bhp.
- Engine and car modifications included double overhead cam conversion, high‑pressure direct hydrogen injection, dry‑sump lubrication, ice charge cooling for the turbochargers, twin Xtrac transmissions and specialist brakes to manage heat and stopping at extreme speeds.
- JCB says the engines are the same basic units it plans to fit to construction machines as part of a roughly £100 million hydrogen programme and that the run was intended as a technology demonstration rather than a commercial claim of fleet readiness.
- The result is pending formal ratification by the FIA and will face follow‑up scrutiny of technical data, safety procedures and lifecycle emissions because hydrogen’s climate benefit depends on how the hydrogen is produced and supplied.