JCB Hydromax's shatters a world record with ‘extraordinary’ speeds topping 400 mph in hydrogen-powered car

There is fast, and past determination is what JCB Hydromax achieved with its hydrogen-powered car connected Tuesday.

The twin-engined, 32-foot car completed 2 runs astatine the Bonneville Salt Flats, signaling an mean velocity of 400.623 mph successful it’s archetypal run, and going 412.135 mph connected it’s 2nd run. The mean velocity of 406.320 mph acceptable the satellite onshore velocity record, and is the fastest a hydrogen-powered interior combustion car has ever traveled, shattering the erstwhile people of 185.5 mph acceptable by the BMW H2R successful 2004.

The grounds is taxable to authoritative confirmation by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

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JCB Hydromax squad celebrates aft record-setting tally astatine the Bonneville Salt Flats connected Aug. 11, 2026. (Courtesy of JCB)

Wing Commander Andy Green, OBE, who drove the car, called the grounds an "extraordinary" engineering achievement.

"This is the archetypal of a caller breed. They person created a caller people astatine Bonneville Speed Week for hydrogen racing, the interior combustion engine. And it's not lone a caller class, but it's besides blown each different hydrogen car retired of the h2o with this record," Green told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview.

Green said the process to get a car up to 400 mph usually takes astir 3 to 5 years. JCB Hydromax lone had its archetypal plan gathering conscionable implicit a twelvemonth ago.

"JCB, by comparison, conscionable implicit a twelvemonth agone sat down for their archetypal plan gathering with their task squad to enactment retired however they were going to bash this. They had 9 months to plan and manufacture components. They built the car successful 5 weeks, tested it for 3 weeks successful the UK and past came consecutive to Bonneville with the purpose of mounting a grounds connected their archetypal sojourn successful a marque caller car utilizing caller technology, which these hydrogen engines they're running," Green said.

"They were moving them astatine a cleanable substance ratio, which nary 1 had ever built for a hydrogen engine. This is unsocial technology."

Green said the professionals who bash this twelvemonth successful and twelvemonth retired thought it would instrumentality a fewer visits implicit 5 oregon six years to execute the feat.

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Andy Green stands by the car. (Courtesy of JCB)

"Instead of 5 oregon six years they did it successful 5 oregon six days," Green said.

The esteemed operator praised the team’s unthinkable enactment successful putting it together, arsenic the process of achieving 400 mph is an arduous one.

Engine improvement presented plentifulness of problems for the engineers to enactment around, including being 6,000 to 7,000 feet supra oversea level and dealing with temperatures of 100 to 105 degrees astatine the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Packaging specified a high-energy motor output successful a tiny abstraction besides creates cooling problems. To combat that, the car was equipped with astir 400 pounds of crystal and h2o to chill not lone the engines but besides the aerial being sucked successful and turbocharged.

The hydrogen engines cannot tally with blistery air, because, with blistery air, the hydrogen "will spell bang consecutive away."

"It’s a tiny aggravated molecule that loves to burn," Green said.

However, if the h2o seeps into the crevices of the motor and mixes with the motor oil, it volition destruct the bearings and the motor successful conscionable a fewer seconds.

The car sits connected the flat. (Courtesy of JCB)

To counteract that, the lipid needs to beryllium heated truthful that erstwhile the h2o inevitably hits it, the h2o volition boil and evaporate consecutive away. Yet, the lipid can’t beryllium truthful blistery that it is overheated.

After astir a week of testing, it was determined the lipid needed to beryllium heated up to astir 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Just arsenic important arsenic hitting apical speed, is making definite the car stops safely. The parachute strategy is paramount to slowing the car safely and is unsocial to the car. It plays a monolithic relation successful slowing down a 5,500-pound car going 400 mph.

After ensuring everything was correct, Green said the squad got the nonstop effect it was were looking for.

"All of those things came together. Today, we went distant from Wendover towards Salt Lake City," Green said. "It had done an mean done the measured mile of 400 miles an hour. It's precisely what we were aiming for arsenic a minimum. Then did the afloat turnaround."

After doing a afloat assemblage cheque and replacing the tires due to the fact that they get exceptionally blistery astatine those speeds, the squad felt assured astir pushing the car a small further due to the fact that everything went truthful good connected the archetypal run.

Andy Green sits successful car. (Courtesy of JCB)

"This is the astir powerfulness we've ever run, the astir velocity we've ever run. Easied up different 20 mph. We got, I deliberation it was 412 miles an hr the different way. An average, which ,subject to confirmation, is simply a caller satellite grounds for a hydrogen car, 406 mph. Absolutely astonishing achievement," Green said.

The clip it took to implicit the measured mile was conscionable nether 9 seconds. The way is 105 feet wide, and Green said helium was mildly steering the "beast" of a car down the track.

"You tin bash 70-80 miles an hr connected the interstate. So, it's 5 oregon six times faster than that. It's fast. It has the weird effect that the way is 105 feet wide and there's marker boards a 4th mile down each side. So the marker boards arsenic you're looking successful the region astatine the marker boards and they travel to get astatine you astir a 2nd distant oregon 2 seconds away. But arsenic you accelerate, you request to look further and further and further successful the distance," Green said.

"The marker boards that you're looking astatine present are much, overmuch person unneurotic and coming astatine you overmuch faster. It really makes the way look narrower and narrower and narrower arsenic you spell faster. It's rather a weird ocular effect, but it's precise powerful."

On the 2nd run, Green was much acrophobic astir slowing down the car, due to the fact that the faster it went, the longer it took to stop.

"And connected some occasions, the car stopped close there, into the way precisely arsenic we planned," Green said.

The car moves connected brackish flats. (Courtesy of JCB)

For Green, going accelerated is rather common. He discovered the satellite of driving astatine supersonic speeds done a property release, and his time occupation gave him the cleanable inheritance for it.

"I've been fortunate capable to person arsenic a vocation moving successful the subject arsenic a pitchy combatant aviator successful the successful the UK, successful the Royal Air Force. So, world's champion time occupation flying pitchy fighters," Green said.

"I don't unreal to beryllium Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise pretends to beryllium me. It's that benignant of job. It's 1 of those bash they truly wage maine to bash this? It's fantastic."

So erstwhile Green saw a property motorboat for a caller task for the land-speed record, helium thought with his inheritance that he’d beryllium cleanable for the task.

"(In) college, I did maths, that was precise overmuch my thing, truthful I'm precise overmuch into the subject of however these things work, and past since past I've been flying supersonic vehicles, and I look astatine this and that's not truly a racing driver's job. Not astatine those speeds, that's more, wherever are you going to get idiosyncratic that is qualified to recognize and thrust a supersonic conveyance powered by pitchy engines? That would beryllium my time job," Green said.

"The much I looked astatine it, the much fascinating a method situation it became to enactment retired however we were going to bash this."

In 1997, Green acceptable the implicit satellite land-speed record, reaching 763.035 mph, and became the archetypal and lone idiosyncratic to interruption the dependable obstruction connected land. The grounds inactive stands today.

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Car sits connected brackish flats. (Courtesy of JCB)

What makes Green excited is that today’s exertion is the opening of a caller epoch successful motorsport.

"It's really showcasing the genuine zero-carbon exertion of the future," Green said.

"This is, you know, you tin marque hydrogen from sunlight and water, enactment it successful a contention car and bash 400 miles an hour. That's an breathtaking aboriginal for motorsport."

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