JCB, the king of excavators, at 600 km/h thanks to hydrogen!

With its hydrogen-powered Hydromax prototype, JCB has just set a record at the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats.

This performance is quite unexpected for JCB, a manufacturer more associated with construction sites than speed exploits. When speed records are mentioned, the names Ferrari, Bugatti, or Koenigsegg naturally come to mind. Much less so JCB, famous for its diggers, loaders, and tractors. However, the British manufacturer has just created a surprise by driving its Hydromax prototype at an average speed of 368.347 mph, or 592.7 km/h, on the iconic Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

At the wheel was an extreme specialist: Andy Green, the first man to break the sound barrier on land. During the Speed Week organized by the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), the Hydromax even reached a peak of 369.554 mph (594.6 km/h), setting a new record in the hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine category.

Hydrogen Opens New Horizons

This achievement is even more remarkable as it breaks a 16-year-old record, held since 2010 by the Spectre Streamliner at 348.342 mph (560.6 km/h).

The JCB Hydromax is an impressive experimental prototype. Nearly 10 meters long, it is powered by two hydrogen combustion engines developed by JCB, derived from production engines, providing a combined power of up to 1,600 hp. This is a way for the manufacturer to demonstrate that hydrogen combustion engines can have a future in extreme applications.

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But this performance may only be a warm-up. Building on this first success, the British team is now preparing for an official FIA world record attempt next week. The engines will be operated at full power, and the goal is clear: to permanently inscribe the name JCB in the history of speed… a field where no one, or almost no one, expected them.