Hydrogen-powered car attempts to break world speed record

By Faye Mayern

British engineering giant JCB is attempting to set a world speed record by testing its recently unveiled car powered by hydrogen.

The company's Hydromax car has now been built and completed its first speed runs at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire today, June 16.

It will attempt to set a Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) world hydrogen land speed record — with the Hydromax car being powered by two digger engines.

The firm is hoping to beat its own existing diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph — set in 2006 by its Dieselmax car — with the Hydromax.

Next month the car will be flown to Bonneville, Utah, in preparation for its 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.”

JCB Hydromax will be driven by Wing Commander Andy Green, who holds an OBE and is the fastest man on earth at 763.035 mph.

Green is also the only person to break the sound barrier on land, and the driver of JCB Dieselmax when it set the FIA world diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph at Bonneville in August 2006.

On a full record run, JCB Hydromax will consume just over two kilograms of hydrogen — and produce 18 liters of water.

JCB Engineering Director Ryan Ballard added that more than 150,000 hours of work had been put into the project he is leading.

He added: "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.”

The initial technical partner meeting for the project with JCB, Prodrive, Ricardo and Xtrac was held on June 5, 2025.

This month, the 32-foot JCB Hydromax rolled onto the tarmac at RAF Wittering for its very first run under its own hydrogen power.

This marked the start of a full U.K. test program covering shakedown runs, hydrogen refueling drills and pit-stop rehearsals.

The JCB Hydromax is powered by two of the company’s own production-based hydrogen internal combustion engines, producing a combined 1,600 bhp — the same engines now powering JCB diggers.

It has been built to a rigorously engineered design.

Around one kilometer of wiring runs through the car, while there has been extensive use of 3D-printed components to keep weight down and packaging tight.

The crankshaft is the same one JCB uses in its 448 hydrogen and diesel engines — highlighting perfectly how the land speed car is built on production hardware.

The pistons alone require one liter of cooling oil every second — as much oil flow as the rest of the engine combined — to stop them overheating.

A specially developed exhaust valve technology handles the temperatures generated by 1,600 bhp of hydrogen combustion.

Each titanium turbo compressor spins at more than 150,000 rpm at close to 300°C, pumping the equivalent of a standard bathtub of air every half-second.

Following U.K. testing, the team will travel to Bonneville for SpeedWeek, the world’s leading land speed racing event, run by the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA).

The team will then remain at the Salt Flats to pursue officially recognized world records under the FIA.

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.