Aug 11 (Reuters) - Former fighter pilot Andy Green set a world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered car at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Tuesday.
The Briton, already the outright land speed record holder, set his latest first at the wheel of a JCB Hydromax vehicle that harnessed the power of two production-based digger engines to reach a combined speed over two runs of 406.320mph/653.909kph.
The record run was overseen by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and is subject to ratification by the governing body's Land Speed Records Commission.
Green, 63, set his land speed world record of 763.035 mph (1,227.985 kph) in the jet-engined Thrust SSC in 1997.
On Tuesday he did a run in each direction over a distance of one mile within an hour, and with the average speed establishing the record time. The first run hit 400.623 mph, the second 412.135.
The previous FIA-officiated hydrogen internal combustion record was 185.5 mph set by the BMW H2R in 2004. The JCB Hydromax also exceeded the 303 mph hydrogen fuel cell mark.
Green also set a diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph on the same salt flats 20 years ago and in the British engineering giant's JCB Dieselmax vehicle.
"Bonneville is the spiritual home of the World Land Speed Record, and Hydromax has just written itself into that history," said Green. "The car was magnificent, stable, strong and fast. To set a world record with hydrogen, 20 years after Dieselmax, is a privilege."
JCB, whose fastest tractor can do 135 mph and who partner the Aston Martin Formula One team, started the project in June 2025 with Prodrive, Ricardo and Xtrac.
The company has invested 100 million pounds ($135.03 million) to develop hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines and is using the Hydromax project to promote the green-engined diggers rolling off production lines.
The record run came ahead of JCB opening a new $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, to make machines for the U.S. market.
($1 = 0.7406 pounds)
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London)
