3 weeks ago

JCB Hydromax Sets FIA Land Speed Record At 653 Kmph

JCB Hydromax Sets FIA Land Speed Record At 653 Kmph
Hydrogen-Powered JCB Hydromax Sets FIA Land Speed Record At 653 Kmph · NDTV

A very special car called the JCB Hydromax just went incredibly fast on a big, flat salt plain in Utah, in the United States.

It is powered by hydrogen, a gas that can be burned like fuel in an engine.

The car drove at an average speed of about 654 kilometers per hour, which is faster than most airplanes take off.

To make the record official, the driver had to drive the car twice, once in each direction, within one hour.

The two runs were about 644 and 663 kilometers per hour, and the average of both runs became the record.

The driver, Andy Green, is a famous speed expert who once drove a car faster than the speed of sound.

The Hydromax beat the old record for hydrogen cars, set back in 2004, and was even faster than the company's own diesel record from 2006.

The car uses two hydrogen engines that together make about 1,600 horsepower, which is a huge amount of power.

Burning hydrogen doesn't create carbon dioxide at the car's tailpipe, but how the hydrogen is made matters for the environment.

The record isn't official yet — experts will still check it before it becomes a real world record.

Key facts

Vehicle
JCB Hydromax, 32-foot hydrogen-powered streamliner
Record speed
406.320 mph (approx. 653.9 kmph) average over the flying kilometre
Individual runs
400.623 mph (approx. 644 kmph) and 412.135 mph (approx. 663 kmph)
Driver
Wing Commander Andy Green OBE
Powertrain
Two production-based hydrogen internal-combustion engines, around 1,600 bhp
Previous record
185.5 mph (approx. 298 kmph) by the BMW H2R in 2004
Status
Provisional; awaiting final FIA Land Speed Records Commission ratification
JCB investment
£100 million in hydrogen engine development

Quotes

Wing Commander Andy Green

British high‑speed record driver and former Thrust SSC pilot

“I’m thrilled to see the Hydromax push the limits of hydrogen combustion”
NDTV

Sources

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