Powered by two heavily modified hydrogen-burning engines, JCB’s Hydromax car shattered the hydrogen land speed record on Tuesday by clocking a two-way average of 406.320 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, driven by former RAF wing commander Andy Green.
The salt flats of Utah have long served as the proving ground for automotive ambition, and a British engineering team has just added a striking new chapter to that legacy. On Tuesday, the JCB Hydromax car took the International Automobile Federation land speed record for hydrogen-powered vehicles, pushing past conventional thresholds with an average speed of 406.320 mph. Behind the wheel was RAF Wing Commander Andy Green, a driver uniquely acquainted with the extremes of velocity who famously piloted ThrustSSC through the sound barrier in 1997.
Engineering a Record-Breaking Hydrogen Powertrain
While production-spec hydrogen combustion engines share performance characteristics with diesel counterparts, a stock output of 74 horsepower would make little impression on the salt. To achieve historic speeds, each of the two hydrogen engines powering the JCB Hydromax underwent a massive overhaul to generate 800 horsepower apiece.
That dramatic surge in performance required doubling engine speeds to 3,800 rpm, replacing pushrod valves with double overhead camshafts, and introducing high-pressure direct fuel injection. The engineering team also dry-sumped the engine, shed unnecessary weight, and enhanced overall cooling.
The project involved designing and manufacturing components, building the car in five weeks, and conducting three weeks of testing in the U.K. before arriving at Bonneville to attempt a record using new hydrogen engine technology.
The Hydromax relies on two ice tanks to cool the air leaving the turbocharger, dropping temperatures from 392 degrees Fahrenheit down to below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. With all-wheel drive delivering a combined 1,600 horsepower and 2,600 lb-ft of torque, the machine set a blistering pace across the measured course.
Record Runs and the Bonneville Benchmark
The record-setting effort unfolded across two demanding runs in opposite directions. Green piloted the vehicle on an initial pass of 400.623 mph, followed by a return run yielding 412.135 mph, resulting in the certified two-way average of 406.320 mph.
This performance drastically eclipses previous benchmarks across alternative propulsion categories. The prior hydrogen combustion land speed record stood at 185.5 mph, set by the BMW H2R in 2004 using a V12 layout. The Hydromax also outpaces the fastest hydrogen fuel cell record of 303 mph, achieved by the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2 in 2009, and the electric vehicle mark of 341 mph set by VBB3 in 2016. However, the ultimate wheel-driven land speed record remains in the hands of Challenger II’s nitromethane-fueled V8s, which reached 449 mph in 2018.
Echoes of a Fearless Historical Era
The triumph at Bonneville coincides with a broader public airing of motorsport history. The FIA is currently digitizing more than two million documents, photographs, and handwritten notes from its land speed archives housed in Valleiry, France, offering unprecedented public access to a century of record-breaking attempts.
Those historical records document a golden age of perilous motoring during the 1930s, when British drivers like Malcolm Campbell, George Eyston, and John Cobb pushed boundaries amid primitive safety conditions. Campbell’s 1935 run at Bonneville famously involved mechanical explosions, punctured tires, and toxic fumes leaking into the cockpit.
“Bonneville is the spiritual home of the world land speed record, and JCB Hydromax has just written itself into that history. The car was terrific—stable, strong, and fast. Setting a world land speed record with hydrogen power, twenty years after Dieselmax, is a huge privilege. This record is a huge achievement by a world-class team and superb technology.”
Andy Green, driver
