3 min read - 12 Aug, 2026
Hydrogen-powered JCB Hydromax sets 406 mph world land speed record
British engineering giant JCB has set a new world land speed record of 406.320 mph with its hydrogen-powered JCB Hydromax.
The car recorded the average speed of 400.623 mph in its first run across the Bonneville Salt Flats, and 412.135 mph on its second run, giving the average of 406.320 mph — the fastest a hydrogen internal combustion car has ever travelled.
Driven by Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, the twin-engined, 32-foot car completed the two runs required under FIA rules, one in each direction within an hour, comfortably beating the previous FIA-officiated hydrogen internal combustion benchmark of 185.5 mph set by the BMW H2R in 2004.
In doing so, JCB Hydromax surpassed the 350.092 mph diesel-powered world land speed record set by JCB Dieselmax, also driven by Green, on the same salt, in August 2006. Twenty years on, JCB has beaten its own benchmark with an engine that produces no CO2 at the tailpipe.
The speed also exceeds the 303 mph hydrogen fuel cell mark, making JCB Hydromax the fastest hydrogen-powered vehicle of any kind in history.
Lord Bamford and his family join the JCB Hydromax team to celebrate its new hydrogen world land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats / Picture: JCB
The new record was set using two of JCB’s own production-based hydrogen digger engines, producing a combined 1,600 bhp and manufactured at the company’s engine factory in Foston, Derbyshire. They are the same engines now powering JCB machines and equipment rolling off production lines in the UK as part of the company’s £100m hydrogen programme.
Anthony Bamford, JCB’s chairman, has led the company’s hydrogen engine project and came up with the idea of a hydrogen world land speed record bid early last year. Lord Bamford said: “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. This record was set by production-based engines, the same engines powering JCB diggers right now. That is the point of JCB Hydromax: it shows hydrogen works, and it works today at the highest level with zero emissions.”
President of the FIA, H.E. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, added: “This is a truly historic milestone for motorsport showcasing how innovation, performance, speed, and sustainability can go hand in hand. Motorsport has always been a catalyst for technological progress pushing the boundaries of what is possible. This new land speed record continues this tradition, showcasing the potential of hydrogen combustion for the future of sustainable mobility.
Wing Commander Andy Green is the fastest man on earth at 763.035 mph, the only person to break the sound barrier on land, and was the driver of JCB Dieselmax when it set the FIA world diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph at Bonneville in August 2006. That record still stands.
Andy Green said: “Bonneville is the spiritual home of the world land speed record, and JCB Hydromax has just written itself into that history. 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. This record is a huge achievement by a world-class team and superb technology.”
The record is subject to official ratification by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motorsport.
