Andy Green sets hydrogen land speed record at 653.908 km/h in JCB Hydromax

Record set on the salt flats

British driver Andy Green, a 64-year-old retired Royal Air Force pilot, set a new world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle on August 12, 2026, reaching 653.908 km/h (406.320 mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The record was confirmed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body for motorsports. Green drove the JCB Hydromax, a 9.75-meter vehicle built by British machinery manufacturer JCB. The speed was measured as a two-way average over a one-mile (1.609 km) course, with Green covering the distance in both directions within 60 minutes to negate wind effects. The first run averaged 645 km/h and the second 663 km/h, with a top speed of 674 km/h briefly reached.

The vehicle and its engines

The JCB Hydromax is powered by two adapted hydrogen combustion engines producing a combined 1,600 horsepower. The engines are based on technology JCB developed for its heavy construction machinery. JCB began developing its own hydrogen combustion engine in 2020 after concluding that fuel cells were too expensive and too fragile for farm or construction site use. The company has invested 100 million pounds (approximately 115 million euros) in hydrogen engine development and has begun delivering the first construction machines equipped with them this year. Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB, said the record was achieved with production engines, the same engines currently running in JCB excavators.

Previous records surpassed

The new record more than doubles the previous hydrogen combustion vehicle record of 298.5 km/h (185.5 mph), set in 2004 by the BMW H2R. Green also surpassed his own diesel land speed record of 563.4 km/h, set in 2006 at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Green noted that the Hydromax could have gone faster, but he released the accelerator after reaching 674 km/h because the vehicle had already reached its predetermined maximum speed. He said that with more attempts, they could have gone even faster.

Green's speed legacy

Andy Green is the only person to have broken the sound barrier on land. In 1997, he drove the jet-powered Thrust SSC across Nevada's Black Rock Desert at 1,227.985 km/h (763.035 mph), a record that remains unequaled. The Bonneville Salt Flats, a 30,000-acre expanse of hard white salt crust on the Great Salt Lake Basin, has been the site of speed races since 1912. Green described the experience of driving over 400 mph, noting the heavy vibrations and loud noise from being sandwiched between two roaring engines. It takes about 72 seconds to accelerate from 50 mph to 400 mph, he said.

Hydrogen as a fuel for heavy industry

JCB aims to demonstrate that hydrogen can be an alternative to fossil fuels, particularly for heavy machinery where batteries are less suitable. Green called hydrogen "the fuel of the future" and noted that no plumes of smoke were produced during the run, with only water coming out of the exhaust. He described the vehicle as "as zero carbon as it gets." FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem called the record a "historic milestone." Green said he could imagine "no better car and more exciting technology" and that this is the first time he has seen a vehicle that is both fast and environmentally sustainable.