British engineering firm JCB has smashed the land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle, with the innovative 1597bhp Hydromax machine averaging 406.320mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah – with driver Andy Green cementing his legacy with a third record.
The Hydromax is a 32-foot slipstreamer powered by a pair of hydrogen-combustion engines built by JCB that combine to produce 1597bhp. The 4.8-litre hydrogen engines are upgraded versions of the units JCB currently produces for its line of diggers, with Riccardo helping to rework them with the fitment of special radiators, intercoolers and racing-spec turbochargers.
Under FIA land speed record rules, the Hydromax had to complete two runs in opposite directions on a 10-mile course in under an hour, with the average speed taken across a measured mile in each direction. The average across both runs was 406.320mph (663.267kmh).
JCB boss Lord Bamford said that "as achievements go, this is right up there in terms of engineering". He added: "It's huge this can be done, to prove an internal combustion engine can be run sensibly on hydrogen with zero emissions, and at very little cost.
"JCB is all about looking forwards. We need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and I believe very strongly hydrogen must be one of the solutions."
The previous record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle was 302.877mph, set by the University of Ohio’s Buckeye Bullet 2 hydrogen fuel cell challengers in 2009. The previous unofficial speed record for a hydrogen combustion car was 185.5mph, set by a BMW research prototype in 2004.
The success gives JCB a second land speed record, 20 years after Green piloted the twin-engined Dieselmax to a new diesel mark of 350mph. Former RAF wing commander Green also set the outright land speed record of 763mph with Thrust SSC in 1997.
JCB staged the record attempt both to showcase its growing hydrogen engine business as a potential route to zero-emissions for industrial equipment, which often operates in locations that lack electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and also to promote its growing US ambitions, including a new factory in San Antonio, Texas.
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The Hydromax set the new land speed record in a dedicated sessions on Bonneville Speedway held to FIA rules. In preparation JCB took part in last week’s Bonneville Speed Week event, albeit with each engine downtrend to 600, rather than 800bhp.
On that occasion, with a the team set a record of 368.347mph in the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) Blown Gas Streamliner class. That mark did not count as an official land speed record because of differences in how the events are regulated.
Following Speed Week, JCB’s engineers switched out both engines for brand-new units, which were tuned to give their full 800bhp. Each engine powers its own axle through a six-speed transaxle gearbox, with their fuel coming from a pair of 700bar hydrogen tanks.
The tubular chassis, multi-link suspension and carbon composite driver’s cell was developed by British engineering firm Prodrive, while Goodyear produced custom tyres that can cope with far higher speeds than those used for Dieselmax – which ultimately limited that car to 350mph.
