British driver Andy Green set a new world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle on Tuesday, reaching 406.320 mph (653.908 km/h) at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats. The retired Royal Air Force pilot drove the 32-foot (9.75-meter) JCB Hydromax, a bright yellow, tubular vehicle powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines. Designed to showcase the potential of hydrogen as a clean-energy alternative, the car produces 1,600 brake horsepower by mixing pressurized hydrogen gas with air to create bursts of power.
Record-Breaking Performance at Bonneville
The record, confirmed by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the international governing body of motor sports, saw Green reach an average speed across two runs on the crystalline crust of the Bonneville Salt Flats. The 64-year-old pilot, who remains the only person to have broken the sound barrier on land, navigated the pencil-shaped vehicle to surpass his own previous milestones. In 1997, Green drove the jet-powered ThrustSSC across Nevada’s Black Rock Desert at 763.035 mph (1,227.985 kph), an outright record that produced sonic booms and remains unmatched.
In 2006, Green also set the world land speed record for a diesel-powered car at the Bonneville Salt Flats, attaining a speed of 350.092 mph (563.4 kph) in the JCB Dieselmax. His latest feat in the Hydromax easily cleared the previous official hydrogen combustion title, which had stood at 185.5 mph (298.5 kph) since 2004, and also exceeded the world land speed record for electric vehicles, which stands at 341.3 mph (549.2 kph). During practice runs last week, Green had already clocked a top speed of 368.347 mph (592.797 kph).
Setting a world land speed record with hydrogen power, 20 years after Dieselmax, is a huge privilege. This record is a huge achievement by a world class team and superb technology,
Green said. Last month, Green noted that his wife’s encouragement was crucial in persuading him to accept the challenge after receiving a call from JCB chairman Lord Anthony Bamford.
JCB’s Strategic Development
The Hydromax is the brainchild of British construction equipment manufacturer JCB, a company founded in 1945. Lord Anthony Bamford, who chairs the company his father, Joseph Cyril Bamford, founded, has invested more than $132 million over the last five years into developing hydrogen combustion engines. The company views this technology as a cleaner alternative to diesel engines, as the combustion process emits harmless water instead of carbon dioxide.
Lord Anthony stated: Twenty years ago we came to Bonneville with JCB Dieselmax and showed what British engineering could do with diesel power. Today we have done it again – this time with engines powered by hydrogen.
The engines used in the record-breaking Hydromax were adapted from those used in the company’s heavy construction machinery. While other automotive applications have utilized hydrogen fuel cells, JCB researchers have focused on combustion technology as a fuel of the future.
The Context of the Attempt
The return to the Bonneville Salt Flats allowed Green to revisit the site of his 2006 diesel record. The area is described as a lunarlike landscape
and serves as a significant venue for testing the limits of vehicle performance. Green, a Wing Commander and OBE, has spent years associated with the company’s push into hydrogen power. The success of the Hydromax run provides a high-profile demonstration of the propulsion system’s capabilities, contrasting the performance of hydrogen combustion against both diesel and jet-powered benchmarks.
The sequence of the achievement marks a culmination of the project’s development timeline, moving from the conceptual phase to an official record measured by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile. By successfully hitting 406.320 mph, Green has solidified the Hydromax’s place in motor sports history while providing a technical demonstration for JCB’s ongoing investment in alternative fuel engines.
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