3 weeks ago
JCB Hydromax Sets FIA Land Speed Record At 653 Kmph
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.
The hydrogen-powered JCB Hydromax set a provisional FIA world land speed record, averaging 406.320 mph (approx. 653.9 kmph) on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats.
It completed two runs in opposite directions within one hour, recording 400.623 mph (approx. 644 kmph) and 412.135 mph (approx. 663 kmph).
The result is still subject to final ratification by the FIA's Land Speed Records Commission.
The Hydromax surpassed the previous hydrogen internal-combustion record of 185.5 mph (approx. 298 kmph), set by the BMW H2R in 2004.
Driven by Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, the 32-foot streamliner is powered by two hydrogen combustion engines producing around 1,600 bhp.
- Who
- Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, driving the hydrogen-powered JCB Hydromax built by equipment maker JCB.
- What
- Set a provisional FIA world land speed record for hydrogen-powered vehicles, averaging 406.320 mph (approx. 653.9 kmph) over the flying kilometre.
- Where
- Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, United States.
- When
- The article gives no exact date; the FIA attempt followed a Southern California Timing Association Bonneville Speed Week run by the same car.
- Why
- To set a new hydrogen-powered land speed record and demonstrate JCB's hydrogen combustion engine technology, part of a £100 million investment programme.
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









