British engineering has made its mark on the Bonneville Salt Flats once again, with JCB’s hydrogen-powered Hydromax streamliner setting a new SCTA class record at an average speed of 368.347mph.
Driven by Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, the 32-foot-long Hydromax achieved the record during Bonneville Speed Week in Utah, providing JCB with a significant milestone just days before the team attempts to establish an official FIA world record.
The new Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) record was confirmed at 8:50am MDT in the Blown Gas Streamliner AA/BGS class for engines above 500 cubic inches.
More importantly for JCB, the result demonstrates that its hydrogen combustion technology can deliver at extraordinary speeds — and there is potentially considerably more performance still to come.
Two runs, one new record
Bonneville’s record procedure requires competitors to complete runs on consecutive days, with the resulting speeds averaged to establish the official mark.
Hydromax recorded 367.141mph on its first run before reaching a maximum of 369.554mph on the second.
The resulting 368.347mph average comfortably eclipsed the previous SCTA class record of 348.342mph, established by the Spectre Streamliner in 2010.
It means a record that had stood for 16 years has finally fallen.
JCB Chairman Lord Bamford described the achievement as a major endorsement of the company’s hydrogen programme.
“To reach 368.347mph is a fantastic achievement for the whole JCB Hydromax team,” he said. “It shows just what JCB’s hydrogen engines are capable of ahead of our outright FIA world record attempt.”
For JCB, however, Bonneville is about more than simply adding another speed record to the company trophy cabinet.
The Hydromax programme has been created as an extreme demonstration of JCB’s work with hydrogen internal combustion engines — taking technology ultimately intended for working machinery and subjecting it to one of the toughest high-speed engineering challenges imaginable.
Andy Green returns to Bonneville
Behind the wheel is a man who requires little introduction in the world of land speed records.
Wing Commander Andy Green remains the fastest person on land, having driven ThrustSSC to 763.035mph in 1997 and becoming the first — and so far only — person to break the sound barrier in a car.
Green said competing at Bonneville had provided the team with both a record and increased confidence ahead of its next challenge.
“It has been an absolute joy to be back on the salt, racing at Speed Week alongside some incredible teams,” he said.
“This record has given all of us huge confidence in the car, the team and the quality of the engineering. With our first record in the bag, we’re now turning up the power on the engines, aiming to go even faster next week.”
And that final point could prove particularly significant.
1,600hp hydrogen power awaits
Hydromax uses two production-based JCB hydrogen internal combustion engines, rather than a battery-electric or hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain.
For the SCTA record runs the team has been progressively developing the streamliner rather than immediately unleashing everything available.
Now the engines are being turned towards their full combined output of 1,600hp as preparations begin for the FIA attempt.
The team has completed 44 runs as part of what JCB describes as a tightly controlled test programme, steadily increasing speed while gathering information about the car, its engines and conditions on the salt.
Project Leader Ryan Ballard said Bonneville Speed Week had provided an important environment in which to develop the machine.
“Speed Week is one of the most iconic and respected events in world motorsport, bringing together competitors from around the globe who share a passion for pushing the boundaries of engineering and performance,” he said.
With the SCTA record secured, attention now turns to what could become the defining moment of the Hydromax project.
Next target: the FIA world record
JCB will remain at Bonneville following Speed Week as it prepares to pursue officially recognised world records sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.
The distinction matters.
The SCTA achievement establishes Hydromax as a Bonneville class record holder, while the forthcoming FIA attempt will put the car through the internationally recognised world-record process overseen by motorsport’s global governing body.
And with more power due to be released from those twin hydrogen engines, 368mph may prove to be a stepping stone rather than the final headline figure.
A familiar obsession with speed
Hydromax also continues a surprisingly rich record-breaking tradition at a company better known for diggers, loaders and construction machinery.
In 2006, the JCB Dieselmax streamliner set a diesel land speed record of 350.092mph at Bonneville using two JCB diesel engines.
In 2014, the JCB GT achieved a world record for the fastest backhoe loader at 72.58mph, while five years later the company’s modified Fastrac became the world’s fastest tractor at 135.191mph.
Twenty years after Dieselmax demonstrated what JCB’s diesel engineering could achieve, Hydromax is returning to the same salt flats with a very different fuel.
There is a commercial backdrop to the project, too. JCB is preparing to open a new $500 million, one-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in San Antonio, Texas. The 400-acre operation is expected to employ around 1,500 people building machinery for the US market.
Motoring Echo Top Tips — Why Hydromax matters
It isn’t simply about 368mph. The significance of Hydromax lies in JCB demonstrating hydrogen combustion technology under extreme loads and sustained high-speed operation.
Hydrogen combustion is different from a fuel cell. JCB’s approach burns hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, retaining much of the mechanical architecture and operating character associated with conventional engines.
Watch the next attempt. With the twin engines heading towards their full combined 1,600hp output, the forthcoming FIA record programme could be considerably more significant than the SCTA achievement.
Bonneville remains special. Its vast salt flats have provided the stage for generations of record-breaking machines and remain one of the world’s great proving grounds for unconventional engineering.
Motoring Echo Verdict
368.347mph is impressive. But perhaps the most interesting part of the JCB Hydromax story is that the team isn’t finished yet.
JCB has taken two production-based hydrogen combustion engines, installed them in a purpose-built British streamliner and beaten a Bonneville class record that had stood since 2010.
That is a considerable engineering achievement in its own right.
But Hydromax is also serving another purpose. At a time when much of the automotive and transport industry’s attention is focused on battery-electric technology, JCB is making a very public argument that hydrogen combustion could have a role where batteries may not always provide the most practical answer — particularly in heavy-duty machinery.
Whether that argument ultimately translates into widespread commercial adoption is a much bigger question.
For now, though, JCB has something rather more straightforward to celebrate: a 368mph record, another piece of Bonneville history and a very fast hydrogen-powered machine with 1,600hp waiting to be unleashed.
And next week, the stopwatch starts all over again.
- For more, you can visit the JCB website here: https://www.jcb.com/en-GB/explore/newsroom/
