Story perspectives

JCB Hydromax Sets 406.320 mph Hydrogen Land-Speed Record

8/14/2026

Summary

Story summary

Andy Green, a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot, set a hydrogen-combustion land speed record of 406.320 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats, which still awaits FIA ratification.
The JCB Hydromax streamliner, using two 1,600-hp hydrogen engines, posted runs of 400.623 mph and 412.135 mph, averaging 406.320 mph and doubling the record of 185.5 mph.
JCB has invested $134 million in hydrogen engines and signed a green-hydrogen deal, showing hydrogen can power heavy-industry equipment with zero emissions.

History

Historical Context

Richard Noble set a land-speed record with Thrust 2 in October 1983, reaching 633 mph. Ten years later his team built Thrust SSC, and on 15 October 1997 RAF pilot Andy Green drove it to 763 mph, the first car to break the sound barrier. Earlier jet-car attempts in the 1960s, such as Craig Breedlove’s Spirit of America, laid the technical groundwork.

1 of 2

Story summary

Andy Green, a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot, set a hydrogen-combustion land speed record of 406.320 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats, which still awaits FIA ratification.
The JCB Hydromax streamliner, using two 1,600-hp hydrogen engines, posted runs of 400.623 mph and 412.135 mph, averaging 406.320 mph and doubling the record of 185.5 mph.
JCB has invested $134 million in hydrogen engines and signed a green-hydrogen deal, showing hydrogen can power heavy-industry equipment with zero emissions.

1 / 2