JCB's Hydrogen Streamliner Sets Bonneville Speed Record Ahead Of FIA Attempt

JCB's hydrogen-powered Hydromax streamliner set a new Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats on Saturday, averaging 592.80km/h across two runs, as the British engineering group builds towards an official FIA world record attempt next week.

Driven by Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, the car recorded 590.85km/h on the opening day and 594.74km/h on the second, giving an average that surpassed the previous mark of 560.60km/h set by the Spectre Streamliner in 2010. It is the first time the Blown Gas Streamliner (AA/BGS, 500-plus cubic inches) class record has been broken in 16 years.

The result came during Bonneville Speed Week, organised by the SCTA and widely regarded as the sport's most prestigious land speed event, where entrants must complete two timed runs on consecutive days. Having secured the class record, the JCB team will now remain at Bonneville to pursue a record recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, motorsport's global governing body.

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The 32-foot, twin-engined Hydromax runs on two of JCB's production-based hydrogen internal combustion engines, engineered rather than adapted from conventional units. Their combined output is being raised towards a full 1,600hp ahead of next week's attempt, with the team having completed 44 test runs to refine the car's stability and performance on the salt.

Lord Bamford, JCB's chairman, said the run demonstrated "what JCB's hydrogen engines are capable of ahead of our outright FIA world record attempt," adding that the project sought to show hydrogen power could compete "at the very highest level with zero emissions." Green, who holds the outright world land speed record at 1,227.98km/h, said the result had given the team "huge confidence in the car" before they "turn up the power" for the FIA bid.

The project sits within a broader push by engine makers to demonstrate that hydrogen combustion, rather than fuel cells or batteries alone, can deliver performance without tailpipe emissions — a technology path with implications well beyond motorsport, including for heavy machinery and commercial vehicles where battery weight and refuelling times remain constraints. JCB has invested heavily in hydrogen combustion for its construction equipment range, and India, where the company has one of its largest manufacturing bases outside the UK, is among the markets it has flagged for future hydrogen-fuelled machinery as emission norms tighten.

The speed attempt also comes as JCB prepares to open a $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, spanning 400 acres and expected to employ 1,500 people building machines for the North American market.

Saturday's record extends JCB's association with land speed racing. Its Dieselmax streamliner set the diesel land speed record at 563.42km/h in 2006, while a modified Fastrac tractor reached 217.57km/h in 2019 and a JCB GT backhoe loader hit 116.81km/h in 2014. The Hydromax attempt now aims to add an outright hydrogen record to that list.