JCB is taking another shot at the speed record books, this time with hydrogen.
The British engineering company has completed the first speed runs of its new Hydromax car at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire on June 16, and plans to attempt a Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile world hydrogen land speed record.
JCB hopes the Hydromax will beat its own diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph, set in 2006 by the Dieselmax car. Next month, the car will be flown to Bonneville, Utah, ahead of record bids on the Salt Flats.
JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford said: “Twelve months ago this car was a set of drawings being discussed by a room full of engineers.
“Today it is a reality and on wheels, running, and being tested in the U.K. The team has done a wonderful job to get us to this point.
“Our focus now turns to the real challenge: setting a world hydrogen land speed record in Bonneville.”
The 32-foot JCB Hydromax is powered by two of the company’s production-based hydrogen internal combustion engines, with a combined 1,600 bhp. JCB said they are the same engines now powering its diggers.
Wing Commander Andy Green, who drove the Dieselmax when it set the FIA world diesel land speed record at Bonneville in August 2006, will drive the Hydromax. JCB said Green holds an OBE and remains the fastest man on earth at 763.035 mph. He is also the only person to break the sound barrier on land.
On a full record run, the Hydromax will consume just over two kilograms of hydrogen and produce 18 litres of water.
JCB Engineering Director Ryan Ballard said more than 150,000 hours of work had gone into the project.
He said: “Every run, every refuel and every tire change we complete in the U.K. is one our team won’t be doing for the first time on the Salt Flats.
“Our goal is simple: to arrive at Bonneville fully prepared, with a car and a crew that know exactly what they are doing.”
JCB said the initial technical partner meeting for the project with Prodrive, Ricardo and Xtrac was held on June 5, 2025. This month, the car rolled onto the tarmac at RAF Wittering for its first run under its own hydrogen power, starting a U.K. test program of shakedown runs, hydrogen refuelling drills and pit-stop rehearsals.
JCB said around 1 kilometre of wiring runs through the car, and 3D-printed components were used extensively to reduce weight and keep packaging tight. The crankshaft is the same one JCB uses in its 448 hydrogen and diesel engines.
The company said the pistons require 1 litre of cooling oil every second to stop them from overheating. It also said a specially developed exhaust valve technology handles the temperatures generated by 1,600 bhp of hydrogen combustion, while each titanium turbo compressor spins at more than 150,000 rpm at close to 300 degrees Celsius, pumping the equivalent of a standard bathtub of air every half-second.
After U.K. testing, the team will head to Bonneville for SpeedWeek, run by the Southern California Timing Association, before staying on the Salt Flats to pursue officially recognised FIA records.
In 2019, the JCB Fastrac tractor was crowned the world’s fastest tractor at 135.191 mph, and in 2014, the JCB GT set the world record for the fastest backhoe loader at 72.58 mph.
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