Overview
- The Hydromax streamliner averaged 406.320 mph across two FIA-format runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats in a run conducted on Tuesday, recording 400.623 mph in one direction and 412.135 mph on the return.
- JCB powered the 32‑foot car with two production-based 4.8–5.0 litre hydrogen internal-combustion engines tuned to about 800 bhp each for a combined roughly 1,600 bhp, and the company says the engines share core architecture with units built at its Foston factory for diggers.
- The result has been publicly praised by JCB leadership and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem but still requires formal ratification under FIA procedures and has been reported inconsistently by some outlets about immediate verification.
- The car emits no tailpipe CO2 during operation, but the climate benefit depends on how the hydrogen is made because lifecycle emissions vary greatly between low-carbon 'green' hydrogen and higher‑emission 'grey' or 'blue' hydrogen.
- The speed more than doubles the previous hydrogen internal-combustion benchmark and follows JCB and driver Andy Green’s 2006 Dieselmax effort; the run is intended as a proof of concept that could speed wider use of hydrogen in heavy industry if low‑carbon supply and infrastructure scale up.