JCB’s Hydrogen-Powered Hydromax Sets New World Land Speed Record at 406 MPH

British engineering giant JCB has set a new world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle, with its Hydromax streamliner reaching an average speed of 406.320 mph (653.6 km/h) across Utah’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats.

The record was certified under FIA regulations, which require two timed runs over a one-mile course—one in each direction—with both runs completed within an hour. Hydromax recorded 400.623 mph on its first run and 412.135 mph on its second on August 11. The two speeds produced an average of 406.320 mph, establishing a new FIA hydrogen land speed record.

The achievement more than doubles the previous FIA benchmark for hydrogen-powered vehicles. That record stood at 185.5 mph, set by BMW’s H2R in 2004.

A Construction Engine Pushing Past 400 MPH

Hydromax’s achievement is even more notable because it also surpassed JCB’s own diesel land speed record. The company’s previous Dieselmax streamliner reached 350.092 mph in 2006. Unlike its diesel predecessor, however, Hydromax’s hydrogen combustion engines produce no carbon dioxide at the exhaust.

The 32-foot-long streamliner is powered by two production-based hydrogen combustion engines. Each is a 4.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, derived from technology JCB already uses in its construction equipment and generators.

Rather than developing a completely bespoke racing engine, JCB adapted technology that is closely related to the engines already supplied to its customers. The Hydromax project was completed in just over 15 months, with engineering support from Ricardo and Prodrive.

Before making its FIA record attempt, Hydromax had already demonstrated its potential at Bonneville. During Speed Week, the vehicle achieved a Southern California Timing Association-certified speed of 368.347 mph, placing it in the Blown Gas Streamliner class.

That performance paved the way for the FIA record attempt just days later—and ultimately saw JCB push hydrogen combustion beyond the 400-mph barrier.

Andy Green Behind the Wheel Again

Wing Commander Andy Green, a former Royal Air Force fighter pilot, drove Hydromax to the new record. Green already holds the outright world land speed record, having driven the Thrust SSC to 763.035 mph in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert in 1997, the only car ever to break the sound barrier on land. He also drove JCB’s Dieselmax to its 2006 diesel record.

“Bonneville is the spiritual home of the world land speed record, and JCB Hydromax has just written itself into that history,” Green said. “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.”

Marketing With a Purpose

For JCB, the record serves a purpose beyond bragging rights. The company has poured roughly $130 million into developing hydrogen combustion technology as an alternative to both diesel and battery power for heavy machinery, and the engines in Hydromax are meant to demonstrate what that investment can do.

“This record was set by production-based engines, the same engines powering JCB diggers right now,” said JCB chairman Anthony Bamford. “That is the point of JCB Hydromax: it shows hydrogen works, and it works today at the highest level with zero emissions.”

The pitch matters for JCB’s core business. Battery power struggles to match the run times construction and agricultural equipment need, since diggers and generators often run six to eight hour shifts without stopping to recharge. Hydrogen combustion, unlike battery-electric systems, refuels in minutes and can plug into the same fueling infrastructure being built out for other transport uses.

The FIA has confirmed the record, working alongside ACCUS, the U.S. national sporting authority, to oversee the sporting, technical, and timing procedures at Bonneville. The organization called the achievement a milestone in the development of hydrogen technology in motorsport.

Hydromax’s run also puts a number on the table for an industry still weighing which zero-emission technology, batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, or hydrogen combustion, makes the most sense for heavy vehicles. At 406 mph, JCB has given hydrogen combustion a data point that didn’t exist a month ago.