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Posted on 08/11/2026 1:00:53 PM PDT by DFG
A new land speed record was set today in Utah by British driver Andy Green, driving a specially designed JCB Hydromax car, which reached 406.320 miles per hour.
The milestone was set in the bright yellow tubular vehicle, powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines, which Green calls the “fuel of the future” at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
He easily beat the previous class record for a hydrogen engine, which had stood at 185 mph.
The driver is a former Royal Air Force fighter pilot who is the only person to have broken the sound barrier on land, which he did when setting the overall land speed record, reaching 763 mph in a car powered by twin jet engines in 1997.
UK company JCB, founded in 1945, is best known for its heavy machinery and is one of the world’s largest privately owned manufacturers of construction and agricultural equipment — but it has also been quietly making a major bet on hydrogen power.
Lord Anthony Bamford — who chairs the company his father, Joseph Cyril Bamford, founded — has invested more than $132 million over the last five years into developing hydrogen combustion engines, a cleaner alternative to diesel engines which emit harmless water instead of carbon dioxide, the bi-product of burning regular fuel.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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What is the nature of the engines?
Turbine, reciprocating, rotary?
Google AI implies that they are turbocharged piston engines. However, the internet is a bit vague on their precise nature, saying only that there are two of them, each “tuned” to generate 800 hp.
I thought the Blue Flame went over 600 mph back in the 70s. 400 would be impressive in something street legal, but that banana is not.
Right. The record is for the "hydrogen powered" bit.
Not quite the same.
I remember Craig Breedlove going 407 mph back in 1963.
Not with me in it.
At sea level STP, speed of sound is ~767 mph. Same ballpark as as standard velocity 22 long rifle.
Apparently the two engines are mounted in opposite ends. One drives the front wheels, the other, the rears.
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/official-jcb-hydromax-is-fastest-ever-hydrogen-ca/51540
Really cool, but hydrogen is impractical for common usage due to a number of problem with liquefying and storage and caloric density.
I guess the Beach Boys will have to update their ‘Spirit of America’ song. “...They’d set a new record on that warm August morn.”
Gary Gablich in The Blue Flame. One of my favorite ‘scratch” models. I caught the bug way back when Craig Breedlove was King of the Salt Flats.
Faster than the Blue Flame on those salt flats?
Faster than that guy on the Indian motorcycle?
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