JCB Hydromax

James Arbuckle

A year ago, the project existed only on engineers' screens. Today, JCB's hydrogen-powered land speed car is running on a British airfield and preparing for a shot at motorsport history.

The British construction equipment manufacturer has completed development of the JCB Hydromax, a purpose-built vehicle designed to challenge the world hydrogen land speed record. Testing is now underway at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, with the car already completing its first high-speed runs ahead of a planned record attempt later this summer at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats.

The effort represents the most visible demonstration yet of JCB’s decade-long push into hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines, an area championed by chairman Anthony Bamford through a £100 million ($134m) investment program. The same hydrogen engines powering the Hydromax are already being installed in production JCB excavators.

The company plans to transport the car to the United States next month in preparation for Speed Week, the annual gathering of land speed racers at Bonneville. Following that event, JCB will pursue officially recognized records sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's governing body.

"Twelve months ago, this car was a set of drawings being discussed by a room full of engineers," Bamford said. "Today it is a reality and on wheels, running and being tested in the UK."

The Hydromax project has moved from concept to test track in just over a year. The first technical meeting involving engineering partners Prodrive, Ricardo and Xtrac took place in June 2025. Almost exactly one year later, the completed vehicle rolled onto the tarmac at RAF Wittering under its own hydrogen power for the first time.

The testing program is designed to do far more than evaluate outright speed. Engineers are putting every major system through its paces, including the twin-engine powertrain, four-wheel-drive transmission, cooling systems, brakes and custom-built control electronics. Teams are also rehearsing hydrogen refueling procedures and pit-stop operations that could prove critical during record attempts on the Salt Flats.

Leading the engineering effort is JCB Engineering Director Ryan Ballard, who says the focus has shifted from simulation to reality.

"More than 150,000 hours of work has got us to this point," Ballard said. "The next phase is where we find out what the car actually does, not what we think it will do."

At 32 feet long, the Hydromax is powered by two modified JCB hydrogen combustion engines producing a combined 1,600 horsepower. While the vehicle has been engineered specifically for speed, many of its core components originate from production machinery. The crankshaft, for example, is the same as the one used in JCB's existing 448 hydrogen and diesel engines.

The engineering challenges are substantial. At full power, the pistons require a liter of cooling oil every second to prevent overheating. Titanium turbochargers spin at more than 150,000 rpm while handling temperatures approaching 300 degrees Celsius. Together, they move enough air to fill a bathtub every half-second.

Despite those performance figures, the emissions profile remains unusual for a vehicle designed to reach speeds above 350 mph. A full record run is expected to consume just over two kilograms of hydrogen fuel while producing approximately 18 liters of water.

The man behind the wheel will be one of the most experienced speed record drivers in history. Wing Commander Andy Green, the first and only driver to break the sound barrier on land, will pilot the Hydromax. Green also drove JCB Dieselmax to a diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph at Bonneville in 2006, a mark that still stands today.

JCB believes the Hydromax can surpass that benchmark. Compared with Dieselmax, the new car is lighter, more powerful, and designed around lessons learned from nearly two decades of land-speed racing.

The record attempt arrives at a significant moment for the company. JCB is preparing to open a new $500 million manufacturing facility in San Antonio, Texas, where up to 1,500 people will build equipment for the North American market.

For JCB, however, Bonneville is about more than publicity. The company sees the hydrogen land speed record as a high-profile test of technology it hopes will play a major role in the future of heavy equipment.

Whether that future arrives at 350 mph or beyond will be decided on the Salt Flats later this year.